TA Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm, and ICLUB, a private investors club, have successfully exited Spanish car subscription startup Bipi, as reported to AIN.UA by TA Ventures. The exit is a result of the acquisition of Bipi by RCI Bank and Services, the Renault Group’s automotive captive. This marks the 35th exit for TA Ventures since the beginning of its activity.
Founded in 2018 in Spain, Bipi is now present in Spain, France, and Italy. With 120 employees, it has serviced over 10,000 customers in the last three years. Its subscription offer provides a turnkey solution, from the subscription to the return of a vehicle. Everything is included in one monthly payment, avoiding any surprises or unexpected expenses for the customer. The customer creates a tailor-made subscription — he chooses the duration of use of a car (from 1 to 36 months) and can change the mileage, the category, or the model of the car according to his needs. The subscription can be terminated at any time and with full transparency.
In July 2021, RCI Bank and Services, the Renault Group’s automotive captive, acquired Bipi, a multi-brand platform that is a reference in car subscription offers for used vehicles, a growing segment. RCI Bank and Services will support Bipi to accelerate its growth and to open new markets, together with Bipi’s current supply partners and in conjunction with RCI Bank and Services’ dealership partners.
Through this acquisition, RCI Bank and Services will extend its range of flexible all-inclusive products with multi-brand subscriptions dedicated to used vehicles. Bipi will also enable the design of subscription formulae for Mobilize’s activities, to meet the new expectations of car drivers.
Since 2014, the Mobility Industry has been a core focus area for TA Ventures, a Kyiv-based international Venture Capital firm. When the car subscription model started to emerge in Europe, the firm identified Bipi as one of the most promising teams and made the initial investment in 2019. TA Ventures has helped to structure the Series A round and brought along their co-investment club, ICLUB. Both entities doubled down in the following Series B in 2020. Bipi was also backed by leading investors such as Kibo Ventures, Maniv Mobility, Adevinta Ventures, and Toyota Ventures.
The investment was sourced and led by Frankfurt-based Pawel Schapiro, who is a Partner at TA Ventures and responsible for the Mobility vertical at TA Ventures.
For the private investors club ICLUB, this is one of the first exits through M&A. Twenty private investors have invested in the startup through the club model alongside TA Ventures, and exited the deal as part of this transaction only two years after the initial investment.
