NEM Ventures, the venture capital and investment arm of the
NEM blockchain ecosystem, has announced an undisclosed seed funding round in Mobi,
a ridesharing app allowing for safe and affordable carpooling that leverages
the NEM blockchain, NEM Ventures said
on Tuesday.
Developed by Australia-based Divi Australia, Mobi is an online platform that facilitates communication and access to shared transportation. On the app, commuters pre-arrange rides up to a week in advance by selecting the date and time they will be requiring or providing the service. Commuters have control over who they choose to ride with, and both parties can connect in advance via the app’s chat function.
“In Melbourne, the first city on our roadmap, there are approximately 2.1 million commuters and 1.3 million car drivers. Mobi bridges this gap by creating a convenient and affordable way to make commuting a more positive experience for all,” said Daniel Logan, co-founder of Mobi. “The app creates a sustainable solution, which can help limit carbon emissions, travel congestion, and free up much needed parking spaces across densely populated cities. NEM allows this to happen more transparently, efficiently and cost effectively and we are happy to partner with the community strategically.”
The Mobi app integrates XEM payments facilitated by
aggregated transactions on NEM Catapult. XEM payments are expected to launch
shortly after the Catapult public chain release.
In the future, other uses of the NEM blockchain solution
will likely include multi party escrowed transactions to record payments,
loyalty points and storage of data on carbon emissions and sustainability
measures.
NEM is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and blockchain platform
launched in 2015. The platform has been integrated with the likes of Malaysian
Xhai Studios for its video game platform services , Pundi
X’s point-of-sale (POS) system, and Liven’s
rewards-based dining payment app.
Catapult, NEM’s upcoming core engine release, is set to bring massive improvements
in terms of speed and scalability. In addition to aggregated transactions,
Catapult will offer new features including multi-layer multi-signature accounts
and native public and permissioned interaction.
NEM Ventures, launched last year, is an investment fund
focusing on commercially viable projects that utilize or benefit the NEM
ecosystem and the adoption of its XEM cryptocurrency. Mobi is NEM Ventures’
second portfolio investment and follows its investment in Vimba,
a New Zealand company providing instant cryptocurrency exchange and savings
services.
“We are always looking for ways to utilize blockchain to
promote social change, which is what drew us to this project in the first
place,” said David Mansell, director and co-founder of NEM Ventures. “Mobi aims
to further the sustainability agenda with a focus on creating long-term
shareholder value while driving home the fact that profitability is not a
trade-off for sustainability.”
Mobi has a minimum viable product (MVP) tested with a live
pilot of approximately 200 users. The company already has confirmed
partnerships with three universities in Australia giving access to circa 40,000
potential users to begin scaling.
In the future, Mobi will offer an incentive-driven partner
network to enable businesses to connect employees for their commuting needs.