Taxibeat

Originating in Athens, Greece, in 2011 amidst a significant debt crisis, Taxibeat emerged as a mobile application to modernize the taxi-hailing process. The company was founded by Nikos Drandakis, Nikos Damilakis, Kostis Sakkas, and Michael Sfictos. Drandakis, a serial entrepreneur with a background in programming, conceived the idea after struggling to find a taxi late one night, envisioning a map-based application to connect passengers directly with nearby drivers. His prior ventures included a B2B marketplace, suppline.com, and a blog aggregator, sync.gr, experiences that honed his technical and entrepreneurial skills.

Taxibeat operated on a two-sided marketplace model, serving both passengers and registered taxi drivers. Its revenue was generated by taking a commission on each fare booked through the application. The platform allowed users to select a driver based on criteria such as user ratings, car model, and proximity, a feature that distinguished it from competitors who assigned drivers automatically. This created a system of accountability and quality control, incentivizing drivers to provide better service to earn higher ratings. The service was particularly praised for enhancing safety and convenience for both riders and drivers.

The company's journey began with seed funding from Openfund in 2011, which was crucial for its launch and survival during early challenges like a local taxi driver strike. A significant milestone was securing a Series A funding round of $4 million in 2013, which fueled its international expansion into markets like Peru. This strategic pivot to Latin America proved highly successful, with the region eventually accounting for the vast majority of its business. In February 2017, Taxibeat was acquired by MyTaxi, a subsidiary of Daimler AG, for approximately €40 million. Following the acquisition, the company was rebranded as 'Beat' and became part of the FREE NOW group, a joint venture between BMW and Daimler. Under new ownership, the company continued its focus on Latin American markets before ceasing operations in late 2022 due to a strategic decision by its investors.

Keywords: ride-hailing, mobile application, taxi booking, two-sided marketplace, Daimler, FREE NOW, Greek startup, Latin America, fleet management, mobility services