Juno shuts down its operations in NYC as owner Gett signs strategic partnership with Lyft
2Reported today on TechCrunch
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Juno shuts down its operations in NYC as owner Gett signs strategic partnership with Lyft
Gett, the ridesharing company backed by Volkswagen and valued at around $1.5 billion, is putting the brakes on a major part of its growth strategy. Today, the company announced that it is closing down its operations in New York, which operates under the Juno brand, effective today. The company has substantial business serving enterprise customers - with some 15,000 companies overall - so alongside this news, it's also entered into a strategic partnership with Lyft to take on those accounts starting next year.
Notably, that 15,000 figure is down on the 20,000 number that Gett shared with me earlier this year when it raised $200 million and talked about going public, by Q1 of 2020.
That is not detailed in today's press release, which focuses instead on rationalization and the "enactment of misguided regulations in New York City earlier this year."
"This development reinforces Gett's strategy to build a profitable company focused on the corporate transportation sector, a market worth $1 trillion each year," said Gett CEO Dave Waiser, Gett CEO, in a statement.
We asked Waiser if he can provide more guidance on IPO plans and he noted to me earlier that the company still expects to be operationally profitable by December and that an IPO is still on the horizon, although without a specific date in mind.
"We are focusing on reaching operational profitability globally already next month in December," he said. "Being a leader in the corporate ground transportation, profitable and global, makes our plans for IPO realistic."
We're also asking Gett for more specifics on the strategic aspect of this deal and whether Lyft is giving Gett shares in its company, or