About Side
Side is a company based in San Francisco (United States) founded in 2012, and was acquired by General Motors in January 2016. Ride-sharing smartphone app. Side has raised $54.33 million across 7 funding rounds from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau and Harbert Management. Side has completed 1 acquisition, including HeyRide. Side offers products and services including Transportation News and Safety and Legal Advice. Its legal entity is Side Car Inc.
Company details
Sidecar, a ride sharing service pivoted to new model in Feb, 2015. It now provides a same-day service for local businesses, delivering goods, food, and flowers to local consumers using its existing pool of drivers. Handles everything from driver management to customer support. Earlier in Feb 2014, it pivoted to a marketplace model where riders shop from sidecar drivers who set their own prices, based on price, car ETA, and typesize of vehicle etc. Acquired another ride-sharing start-up Heyride in Feb 2013. Raised a 15M funding round in Sep 2014, from Avalon Ventures, USV and Richard Branson. Pivoted into a delivery company on September, 5th 2015
- Headquarters San Francisco, United States
- Stage Acquired
- Website side.cr
- Social LinkedIn Facebook
- Acquired by General Motors (Jan 2016)
- Legal Name Side Car Inc
- Total Equity Funding$54.33M (USD)
in 7 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$11M (USD), Series C
May 2017
- InvestorsLightspeed Venture Partners
& 13 more
- Investments & Acquisitions
- Acquired byGeneral Motors
(Jan 2016)
Products & Services of Side
Side offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Transportation News and Safety and Legal Advice.
News and articles on ridesharing and automotive topics are provided to inform the public
Guidance on accident handling and vehicle safety is offered through content on the platform
Funding Insights of Side
Side has successfully raised a total of $54.33M across 7 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series C round of $11 million completed in May 2017. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $54.33M
- Total Rounds 7
- Last Round Series C — $11M
- Investors Count 13
All 7 funding rounds of Side with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2017 | $11M | Series C | – | – | |
| Sep 2015 | $4M | Series B | – | – | – |
| Sep 2014 | $15.87M | Series B | – | Avalon Ventures, Union Square Ventures | – |
| Jun 2014 | $3.1M | Series B | – | – | |
| Feb 2014 | $10M | Series B | – | – | |
| Dec 2012 | $10.35M | Series A | – | Lightspeed Venture Partners, Google Ventures | – |
| Jun 2012 | Seed | – | – |
14 investors in total: 14 institutional.
Investors in Side
Side has secured backing from 14 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau and Harbert Management.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Seed and early-stage venture capital is provided to US companies. | avalon-ventures.com | Cambridge, United States | ||
Venture capital firm focused on blockchain, wellbeing, and multiple sectors | usv.com | New York, United States | ||
Venture capital investments in early stage B2B software and academic research startups. | osagepartners.com | |||
Venture capital firm focused on aerospace, biopharma, consumer, and multiple sectors | correlationvc.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Venture capital investing in innovative companies across global sectors is undertaken by Lightspeed Venture Partners. | 1997 | lsvp.com | Menlo Park, United States | |
Corporate backed venture capital fund investing in multiple sectors | gv.com | Mountain View, United States | ||
Spring Ventures LLC is engaged in online content publishing. | springventuresllc.com | |||
Early-stage investments are provided to transformative technology companies. | svangel.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Early-stage venture fund focused on energy industry investments. | huronrivervc.com | Ann Arbor, United States | ||
USA focused VC firm investing in seed and early stage startups | 2010 | lererhippeau.com | New York, United States |
Investor details for Side
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Side
2 people are tracked at Side (2 in leadership).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Melissa Thorson | Co-Founder, CTO | Leadership |
David Johnson | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for Side
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Investments & Acquisitions by Side
Side has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include HeyRide.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Discounted and free taxi rides to partnered restaurants are provided. | heyride.com | Berlin, Germany | 2012 | Feb 2013 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for Side
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
- Deal sources
- Complete history
- Exports
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Side
5 dated milestones of Side across 5 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Side is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Acquisition Acquires HeyRide.
- Exit Acquired by General Motors.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series C, of $11.0M.
Web traffic of Side
Websites that share an audience with Side (side.cr).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Side. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
business.time.com | business.time.com | 100% | – | ||
| getsidecar.com | 88% | View details | |||
sidecar.com | sidecar.com | 33% | #3,507,006 | – | |
| geekwire.com | 32% | 793.4K | #92,528 | View details |
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Frequently Asked Questions about Side
Side was founded in 2012.
Side is headquartered in San Francisco, United States. It is registered at San Francisco, California, United States.
Side is a funded company, having raised a total of $54.33M across 7 funding rounds to date.
Sidecar, a ride sharing service pivoted to new model in Feb, 2015. It now provides a same-day service for local businesses, delivering goods, food, and flowers to local consumers using its existing pool of drivers. Handles everything from driver management to customer support. Earlier in Feb 2014, it pivoted to a marketplace model where riders shop from sidecar drivers who set their own prices, based on price, car ETA, and typesize of vehicle etc. Acquired another ride-sharing start-up Heyride in Feb 2013. Raised a 15M funding round in Sep 2014, from Avalon Ventures, USV and Richard Branson. Pivoted into a delivery company on September, 5th 2015.
Side offers Transportation News and Safety and Legal Advice.
Side has made 1 acquisition, including HeyRide.
Side has 14 investors. Key investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Lerer Hippeau, Harbert Management, General Motors, and Avalon Ventures.
Side operates through Side Car Inc.
Yes. Side was acquired by General Motors in January 2016.