Tapping into the time honoured tradition of carpooling, Spain’s Hoop Carpool raises €1.2 million and sets its sights on new market entries

Madrid-based corporate carpooling platform Hoop Carpool has raised €1.2 million in a new investment round. The capital will be used to consolidate the startup’s position in Spain as it looks forward to deeper market penetration in Portugal, Mexico, and Colombia.

Hoop Carpool’s €1.2 million investment round was led by Ship2B Ventures through BSocial Impact Fund, supported by Banco Sabadell, FEI and AXIS, as well as 4Founders Capital. Additional participants include Lanai Partners as well as a number of undisclosed angel investors.

Regardless of geographic location, the rise of the suburbs (or in some cases even urbs) has given way to a parallel interest in carpooling. Early references in the US market given credence to the rise of such practice springing up around the time of the second world war as a rationing tactic, with a second wave experienced in the 1970’s in response to the oil crisis.

While the practice made sense then, when we factor in the global concern over a growing climate crisis, the need, and practicality of carpooling makes more sense now than ever before.

Connecting people who commute to the same places on a daily basis, Hoop Carpool operates quite simply as a mobile app that connects drivers who post their trips with passengers looking for rides to join 

Founded in early 2019, the company counts over 60 clients, ranging from large corporations including Mercadona and Banco Santander, to universities and municipalities. The startup claims to have facilitated more than 60,000 trips, reducing 220,000 kilograms of CO2 emissions, ultimately enabling more than 1.6 million kilometers of carpooling.

Building upon this domestic market success, Hoop Carpool has entered the Portuguese market and expanded into Mexico and Colombia in Latin America. The company aims to achieve a turnover of €1 million within the next 12 months, as well as double its team size.