On-demand valet startup Luxe is only a few months old, but it’s gaining significant early traction with customers. That in turn has attracted significant interest from investors, we’re told.
Less than six months after its official launch last October, sources say the company has raised a $20 million Series A round of financing that is being co-led by Redpoint Ventures and Venrock Partners.
Luxe is one of a handful of companies that have popped up recently to solve the problem of parking in busy cities. Via the Luxe mobile app, users hail valets on demand and pay a small hourly or daily rate for the time their cars are parked.
With the app, users simply designate a spot for valets to pick up their car, which is then parked at one of the Luxe’s nearby partner garages. When it’s time for users to get their cars back, they simply use the app to mark where they’d like the car to be returned to them, generally 10-15 minutes ahead of time.
It’s an idea that’s quickly picked up steam in the limited markets in which it operates. According to Luxe’s press kit, 60 percent of customers are repeat users and use the service two-to-three times a week. Most of those users are commuters who drive into the city and don’t wish to deal with the hassle and cost of trying to find parking in cities where that is at a premium.
Luxe is currently available in just San Francisco and Los Angeles, and has only been around since October. That’s not stopping it, however, from racking up investment from some key investors.
Sources tell us the new financing is a whopping $20 million led by Redpoint and Venrock — which isn’t bad for a service that’s less than six months old. Redpoint was previously part of the company’s $5.5 million seed round, which also included investors such as Google Ventures, Sherpa Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, and Data Collective. Both Redpoint and Venrock will be taking a board seat with the new funding.
The funding will most likely be used to ramp up hiring in engineering and operations, as it looks to quickly grow beyond its two existing markets. As with most new on-demand services, being a first-mover is a big advantage when it comes to operating in new cities.
With competition heating up among the on-demand parking and valet apps, the funding could make a difference as Luxe looks to expand both its availability on new devices and new cities. The company is likely to launch an Android app soon (for now, Luxe is iPhone only), and will no doubt use the funding to accelerate its entrance into new markets.
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