Obi

Obi is a metasearch platform for ground transportation, enabling users to compare real-time pricing and pickup times across various ride-hailing services, taxis, and black cars in a single mobile application. Founded in 2014 by Payam Safa and formerly known as Bellhop, the company rebranded to Obi in March 2021. The platform was developed to address the lack of a convenient way for consumers to compare ride-sharing options, which often resulted in overpaying. On average, the service reports that its users save about 20% per ride.

The company's founder, Payam Safa, has an entrepreneurial background that includes founding Chanelink, an online distribution automation firm for hotels, and co-founding Batiqa Hotels. His experience also includes roles as a consultant at Accenture and a software engineer at Northrop Grumman. The company's COO, Ji Young Choi, also brings significant startup experience, having founded the JYC Group, a consulting firm for startups and Fortune 500 companies, and co-founded Teckst, a B2B SaaS platform.

Obi's business model is based on collecting a service fee of up to 10% from the ride-hail providers for each booking made through its platform. Future revenue streams are planned to include targeted advertising, data sales, subscription products, and technology licensing. The application is free for consumers and has integrations with over 300 companies, including Curb, Ola, and Heetch, providing access to a large network of drivers globally. Users can book some services like Curb directly within the Obi app, while for others, like Uber, the app links to the provider's application to complete the booking. As of June 2025, the platform had over one million users.

Keywords: ride aggregator, ride-hailing, price comparison, taxi booking, transportation app, metasearch platform, ground transportation, ride-sharing, black car service, Payam Safa, mobile booking, travel tech, mobility tech, on-demand transport, transportation savings, fare comparison