The story
Getaround was founded in 2009 by Sam Zaid, Jessica Scorpio, and Elliot Kroo. In May 2011, Getaround won the TechCrunch Disrupt New York competition. In 2012, Getaround began serving Portland, Oregon with the aid of a $1.725 million grant from the Federal Highway Administration.
In November 2016, Getaround reached an agreement with City CarShare to take over its fleet, parking spaces, and member base.
In August 2018, Getaround raised $300 million from Softbank.
In April 2019, Getaround purchased the car-sharing platform Drivy for $300 million and rebranded the company as Getaround six months later.
In May 2022, Getaround announced an agreement to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) to start selling shares of the organization on the New York Stock Exchange. Listed as GETR, the company would have a equity value of $1.2 billion.
On February 11, 2025, Getaround announced the cessation of its U.S. operations while maintaining its European business, citing liquidity challenges. The decision affected both its car-sharing and HyreCar operations in the United States.
Financial difficulties
In January 2020, The Information reported the company planned to lay off approximately 150 staff members or about 25 percent of its workforce. In March 2020, Bloomberg News reported that demand had dropped due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the company was short on cash and looking for a buyer.
Getaround’s 2022 SPAC merger valued the company at $1.2 billion, but the company's stock soon fell, and by 2024 the company's market cap was roughly $24 million. In February 2024, Getaround laid off 30 percent of its staff, this after the company vacated its San Francisco headquarters in 2023. In July 2024, the company's stock was delisted from the NYSE and transferred to the OTC Markets.
From Wikipedia’s article on Getaround, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4