Photo: Sidecar
Co-founders Sunil Paul and Jahan Khanna have recently announced that Sidecar will end all its operations on December 31, mostly because it got harder and harder to compete with the other two giants, Uber and Lyft. This somehow expected move will pave the way to their next big adventure in 2016, about which Paul and Khanna haven’t said a thing.
Founded in 2011, the company was among the first to create an app for ride-destination tracking, discounted carpooling and deliveries. This rather radical move comes after Sidecar shifted from transporting passengers to goods, also because it couldn’t keep up with the other two companies.
Nikhil Krishnan, technology analyst for CB Insights, explained this move by saying that the competition has been too big, and the other companies too heavily founded, and Sidecar didn’t have the same pull with drivers.
According to Margaret Ryan, a company spokesman, Sidecar managed to raise only $35 million, which is insignificant in comparison to the direct rival companies.
Earlier this month, Uber Technologies was in search of $2.1 billion to expand its network far beyond picking up and dropping off riders. Besides testing food and packaging delivery in some cities, Uber is also working on self-driving cars. An enormous chunk of that sum is going to be spent on further developing throughout Asia, particularly in China.
Lyft, currently the number 2 ride-hailing service is also trying to attract $500 million to allow them to continue growing. The company had a terrible start in 2015, as it lost $127 million in the first half of the year, and then managed a comeback when it recorded a gross revenue of $1 billion in key markets such as San Francisco.
Although Sidecar has some pretty prominent investors such as Union Square Ventures, Google Ventures or the British Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Airlines among others, the only logical move was to close the shop and focus its attention on new projects, as Bloomberg reports.
Nikhil Krishnan, technology analyst for CB Insights, explained this move by saying that the competition has been too big, and the other companies too heavily founded, and Sidecar didn’t have the same pull with drivers.
According to Margaret Ryan, a company spokesman, Sidecar managed to raise only $35 million, which is insignificant in comparison to the direct rival companies.
Earlier this month, Uber Technologies was in search of $2.1 billion to expand its network far beyond picking up and dropping off riders. Besides testing food and packaging delivery in some cities, Uber is also working on self-driving cars. An enormous chunk of that sum is going to be spent on further developing throughout Asia, particularly in China.
Lyft, currently the number 2 ride-hailing service is also trying to attract $500 million to allow them to continue growing. The company had a terrible start in 2015, as it lost $127 million in the first half of the year, and then managed a comeback when it recorded a gross revenue of $1 billion in key markets such as San Francisco.
Although Sidecar has some pretty prominent investors such as Union Square Ventures, Google Ventures or the British Richard Branson, owner of Virgin Airlines among others, the only logical move was to close the shop and focus its attention on new projects, as Bloomberg reports.
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