Mitsubishi invests in MaaS Global’s Whim app

News In Brief:

• Mitsubishi Corp. invests in MaaS Global’s app Whim that is said to replace car ownership.
• Whim acquired $26 million from the previous funding round.
• Whim is looking forward to expanding its app in North America and Asia.

Mitsubishi Corp. recently joined hands with the transportation sector-giant Toyota Financial Services to invest in MaaS Global, a Finnish firm’s app called Whim.

Mitsubishi, a Tokyo-based organization has acquired shares in the Helsinki-based MaaS Global Oy – the company behind Whim application.  

According to Sampo Hietanen, the CEO of MaaS, the latest funding round will be closed within a few weeks. He also revealed that the app had acquired 24 million euros – amounting to roughly $26 million – from investors in the previous round held in April.

The company has, ever since, kept an eye open for “strategic” investors who can bring “not just money but something extra,” said Hietanen. Something that the recent Mitsubishi partnership offers. 

He is relying on Mitsubishi to learn how to integrate local know-how with a global reach along with the skills of negotiating with various parties involved in the transportation sector who are willing to combine multiple transport services like buses, ride-sharing, taxis, and rentals.

About Whim App

Whim app owner MaaS Global founded the mobility-as-a-service model in the Finnish Capital in the year 2017. 

“This is what a car tends to represent to people, it’s this promise of freedom to go anytime, anywhere on a whim,” and “We really need to concentrate on delivering that.” said the CEO of MaaS Global referring to the app.

The all-in-one-mobility app Whim consists of a subscription-based model for offering transportation services like ridesharing, scooter rentals, taxis, car rentals, bike rentals, etc. 

The top of the line package costs €500 per month and is inclusive of unlimited ridesharing, access to public transport, 10-euro taxi for short distances, and bike, scooter, and car rentals. It is said to replace the concept of car-ownership.

Talking about the multi-commutation models connecting application, Hietanen said that “Cars take 70 percent of the market and it’s used 4 percent of the time so you’re paying for the optional capacity,”. So, Whim will definitely reduce transportation costs while significantly decreasing the emissions.  

The 3 million trips old app is presently available in Birmingham, Belgium, U.K., Helsinki, Antwerp, and Vienna as of now, and will soon make its debut in the USA. 

Before making the services available to the public, the company will first pilot with a small group of people in each market in order to “focus on the user experience to really get it right,” said the CEO.

Seeing how they are expanding, we foresee a lot of potential in the Whim app and think its popularity will go beyond our expectations, especially on the travel app development front, as the company marks its presence globally.

THE AUTHOR

Tripti Rai

Content Manager