VilCap Investments, a venture capital fund affiliated with Village Capital, announced an investment as part of a $1.5M round in GoKid, a mobility solution for schools, teams and families to more efficiently coordinate kids transportation.
GoKid was one of two companies in Village Capital's Energy US 2018 program to receive offers of investment from VilCap Investments (the other was Vartega). GoKid and Vartega were ranked as the top two most "investment-ready" companies in the program by the group of eight startups, a process called "peer-selected investment".
The company was also featured in a Village Capital report following the program, "Moving Electrons", that analyzed investment trends in cleantech transportation and lifted up exciting companies in the shared mobility space and other subsectors. The report can be downloaded here.
GoKid has previously raised $1.1M in funding and already serves users in 650 cities and 25 countries. Other institutional investors include InMotion VC (Jaguar Land Rover venture capital arm), Deutsche Bahn Digital Ventures, and Techstars.
GoKid's platform is an invitation-based system that protects the privacy of kids and families while allowing parents to arrange trusted and convenient carpools, reducing the estimated 80 billion hours per year that parents spend driving kids to school. With functionality that allows for automated scheduling, driver selection, notifications, chat functionality, GPS, and route mapping, GoKid is available on iOS, Android and web, and has begun integrating with select vehicle OEMs.
"We're dedicated to backing companies that are building a more sustainable economy through transportation innovations that will reduce emissions and more efficiently leverage shared resources or infrastructure," said Victoria Fram, Co-Founder & Managing Director of VilCap Investments. "GoKid's technology has taken the age-old concept of carpooling - a trusted community network that eases the burden of childcare on individual working families - and married it with technology that makes it simple for parents, schools, organized activities and camps to save time and streamline schedules. With more than 100,000 rides completed already, there is clearly a ready market for their solution and we're excited to support the next phase of their journey."
"We are honored to receive the US Energy 2018 award and the investment from VilCap Investments. Moreover, we'd like to thank our fellow entrepreneurs for the joint achievement and their confidence in our solution and team," said Stefanie Lemcke, founder and CEO of GoKid.
About VilCap Investments & Village Capital
Village Capital builds bridges for entrepreneurs who are creating an inclusive and sustainable world. Our programs connect high potential, early-stage entrepreneurs with the people, institutions, and capital they need to succeed. Since 2009, Village Capital has supported more than 1,000 entrepreneurs through our programs, and partnered with affiliated investment funds, including VilCap Investments, that have invested seed capital in more than 90 program graduates.
About GoKid
GoKid is a complete carpool solution for busy families, schools, and teams. GoKid's easy-to-use applications enable families to set up and manage carpools with people they know and trust. GoKid is an alumnus of Techstars Mobility and backed by Fontinalis Partners, Jaguar Land Rover's InMotion Ventures, and Deutsche Bahn. Founded in 2015, GoKid is headquartered in New York City, with users in 25 countries. To learn more about how we work with schools, teams and corporations, visit GoKid.mobi.
