Moove Raises $250M to Become the Backbone of the Robotaxi Industry
Moove's journey—from a vehicle financing startup for ride-hailing and delivery drivers in Africa, to a Dubai-headquartered mobility company now owning autonomous vehicles—might appear to be a dramatic pivot. But co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano argues that the company's deep experience in financing and managing human-driven ride-hailing fleets has been the ideal training ground for its latest ambition.
Now, with a fresh $250 million injection at a $2.1 billion valuation, the company is moving decisively to scale its autonomous vehicle (AV) fleet management business.
The Series C round was led by Mubadala Investment Company, with Woven Capital and Ion Pacific acting as co-leads. Other notable backers include BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management, The Raptor Group, BlackRock, MUFG, Franklin Templeton, Uber, Left Lane, Silverbacks Holdings, Square Associates, The Latest Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and the Ontario Power Generation Pension Plan. The involvement of Uber, in particular, underscores the growing strategic importance of AV fleet operators to the broader ride-hailing ecosystem.
The Pivot to Autonomous Vehicles
Founded in Nigeria in 2020 and now headquartered in Dubai, Moove remains firmly rooted in the traditional ride-hailing business. The company operates a 42,000-vehicle ride-hailing fleet across 14 countries and continues to provide vehicle financing to gig drivers, employing 3,300 people globally. Its traditional mobility business is projected to reach full profitability in 2026, according to Delano.
However, the expansion into autonomous vehicles began in early 2023, following an exhaustive evaluation of the nascent AV industry and its four main stakeholder groups: AV developers, vehicle manufacturers, marketplaces like Uber, and the end consumer. Delano noted that none of these players want to “own the metal”—the physical vehicles.
“In this world, who owns the vehicle? Who operates the vehicle? Who orchestrates the vehicle? Who does the servicing, the maintenance? Who handles lost property? Who does the cleaning?” Delano asked. It quickly became evident that Moove's experience in managing large fleets and providing financing was directly relevant to the complex operational challenges of autonomous vehicle fleets.
“Let’s create a product where we own, operate, and orchestrate autonomous vehicles, and let’s go and find partners to do it with—and that’s essentially what we did,” Delano explained. “In 2023, we started talking to every single AV company you could imagine, and as luck would have it, we managed to partner with Waymo first.”
A Growing, Data-Rich Partnership with Waymo
Moove currently serves as the fleet operator for Waymo across Phoenix, Miami, and Las Vegas, with London slated to come online in the near future. While Moove does not yet own the Waymo vehicles it operates, the company has clear plans to do so, using debt financing to purchase the robotaxis. Delano declined to provide a specific timeline for when Moove will begin buying Waymo vehicles. However, he confirmed that Moove already owns robotaxi vehicles from another—undisclosed—AV developer.
“Ultimately our vision is to own, you know, hundreds of thousands of vehicles,” Delano said, referring to robotaxis. As the autonomous vehicle market matures in 2026, with major cities expanding robotaxi service areas and regulatory frameworks becoming more defined, the role of a large-scale, neutral fleet owner and operator like Moove becomes increasingly critical. The company is positioning itself as the dominant physical layer behind the emerging autonomous mobility economy.
Scaling Up: People and Automated Depots
The newly raised capital will be primarily directed toward scaling the company's autonomous vehicle fleet management operations, including hiring approximately 350 new employees. A significant portion of funds will also be invested in developing what the company calls “Nests”—automated, “lights-out” depots.
These Nests are designed to operate 24/7, using robotics to automate vehicle charging, maintenance, and servicing. Such facilities are essential for achieving the operational efficiency and cost reductions required to make large-scale robotaxi fleets economically viable. Moove has about 15 depots in various stages of development, though Delano would not speculate on when the fully automated Nests would come online, noting that they represent a future product.
With the $250 million war chest, Moove is not just expanding; it is laying the groundwork to become the operational backbone of the global robotaxi industry—one vehicle, one depot, and one city at a time.
via TechCrunch