Israeli Firm Optibus Raises $100M At $1.3B Valuation

Israeli public transportation optimization company Optibus announced the completion of a $100 million Series D funding round to advance its public transportation software platform and strengthen its global market presence. 

The round was raised by both new and existing investors including Insight Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Verizon Ventures, Pitango First & Pitango Growth, Tencent, SOMV, and Momentum, among others.  

This latest capital brings Optibus’ total funding to $260 million and its valuation to $1.3 billion, which is said to make the company the first unicorn dedicated to the public transportation sector.

After closing the round, Optibus launched its Ridership Insights feature, which visualizes and analyzes all aspects of ridership data to determine how well a driver’s routes are performing with regard to passenger volume. Doing so allows planners to make necessary route adjustments to better match the supply of transportation services to passenger demand.

“Optibus is proud to be the first unicorn dedicated to public transportation, which is at the core of a healthy and equitable society. By putting powerful technology in the hands of industry professionals, Optibus helps to increase transportation equity and ridership while reducing emissions and costs,” said Optibus CEO and co-founder Amos Haggiag. “Our investors and employees see the double promise of Optibus to generate both social good and ROI, and we are thrilled to lead the industry’s digital transformation.” 

Founded in 2014, Optibus is an end-to-end, cloud-native SaaS platform powered by AI and optimization algorithms to streamline and simplify transportation planning, scheduling, rostering, and operations. The company’s platform has been adopted by transportation agencies and operators in over 1,000 cities, including most recently in Kampala, Uganda. Optibus’ services improve efficiency, service quality, promote transportation equity, minimize emissions, cut costs, and upgrade operations.   

“Optibus combines innovation and public transportation expertise like no one else in the industry. Their software is revolutionizing our business and day-to-day operations, as well as the passenger experience. Optibus is the future of public transportation and we celebrate this fantastic milestone with them,” said Carla Stockton-Jones, UK managing director at Stagecoach Group, the largest public transport operator in the UK, with an estimated 2.5 million passenger trips each day.

“Optibus has modernized the industry and helped cities around the world bring quality and reliable transportation to their residents. As long-time investors in the company, we’re excited to continue our partnership with Amos and the team,” said Teddie Wardi, Managing Director at Insight Partners. “We look forward to working with Optibus as they continue to grow and scale up.”