MaaS Global to launch in Singapore

The Finnish company is partnering with ComfortDelGro, one of the world’s largest land transport companies, to enter the Singaporean market. Other partners yet to be announced include major car rental companies, car-, bike- and scooter-sharing operators, and public transport operators.

The Whim mobile app is a flexible service that brings together various means of transport under one subscription. Users can choose either a monthly package or pay as they go.

“We are proud to start our operations in Singapore with the most progressive partners,” saysKaj Pyyhtiä, the co-founder of MaaS Global. “We feel that this is the perfect way to enter the Asian markets and [make] mobility as a service available in the region. Finding the right partners is key for our success.”

MaaS Global will start piloting Whim in Singapore this year and the commercial launch is planned for early 2019.

The service is already operating in Helsinki, Birmingham, UK, and Antwerp, Belgium.

The company has raised over 30 million euros in funding over the past 16 months. A round was closed in August this year, while Toyota led a 10 million-euro round in June 2017 and took part in a 14.2 million-euro round in August of the same year.

“I expect that in five years, this form of travel has become much more common, and more people will opt out of owning a car,” CEO Sampo Hietanen said in our feature article last year. “There will be less space needed for parking and more space available for living in the cities.”