Friday Fundings: Moovit, Back Market, and LetsGetChecked

Urban Mobility Gets a Boost as Intel Acquires Moovit for $900 Million

Mobility around the world might be slowed for the time being, but that hasn’t stopped Moovit, the “urban mobility app” that was just acquired by Intel (INTC) for $900 million. This is an acquisition, not a typical funding, but the backing will help further expand and build out Moovit’s software.

Moovit’s app works a bit like Google (GOOGL) and Apple’s (AAPL) maps in that it allows customers to plan the routes they want to take on public transit. The difference is that Moovit also uses crowdsourced data, so it’s possible to choose the fastest route in cities where public transit data isn’t available. Already, 800 million people use Moovit in 3,100 cities around the world.

Intel acquired Moovit as part of its autonomous driving initiative, which involves self-driving taxis in Israel and robot taxis in South Korea. In 2018, Intel launched an investment round for Moovit and raised $50 million. In a statement about Moovit, Intel’s CEO said , “Moovit accelerates [our] ability to truly revolutionize transportation—reducing congestion and saving lives—as a full-stack mobility provider.”

Goldman Sachs Helps Back Market Raise $120 Million for Expansion

Back Market is a France-based reselling platform that specializes in refurbished electronics with warranties that last at least a year. The startup raised $120 million in a funding round led by Goldman Sachs (GS), Algae Ventures, and Eurazeo Growth.

To Back Market, the most important part of this round was one of its new investors, Goldman Sachs. The startup is focused on expanding in the United States, and Managing Director Serge Verdoux said it was important to establish a relationship with a well-known American investor.

With its new $120 million, Back Market will work on expansion, but it will also focus on quality control. The platform already vets sellers, which are all authorized businesses instead of individuals, but it will now be able to implement new device testing.

At-Home Diagnostic Company LetsGetChecked Raises $71 Million

The COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns have forced many people to consider telemedicine for the first time. After the pandemic ends, some people may not want to return to the doctor’s office for traditional visits.

LetsGetChecked, an at-home health startup, raised $71 million in financing to fund remote testing and monitoring for a variety of health concerns. The Queens-based company’s main priority currently is offering both serotests for antibodies and PCR tests for COVID-19.

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