Las Vegas driverless car rental service pulls in $5M

Las Vegas startup Halo.Car announced Tuesday that it has raised $5 million in seed funding, led by the climate-focused investment fund At One Ventures.

The company allows customers to rent electric vehicles piloted by a remote driver, who operates the vehicle from Halo.Car’s office.

The capital infusion will allow the startup to shift out of beta testing and into a commercial launch later this year, according to a news release. It will also be able to increase its workforce and grow its fleet of EVs from 2 to 50.

Additional investors in the seed round included T-Mobile Ventures, launched by T-Mobile that invests in companies building 5G-related products and services, Earthshot Ventures, a spin off fund from Elemental Excelerator, and existing investment from Boost VC.

Halo.Car founder and CEO Anand Nandakumar said in an emailed statement that the company is not disclosing ownership allocations among the investors.

At One Ventures founding partner Tom Chi, who co-founded Google X and helped develop Google Glass, said Halo.Car offers an important service as autonomous vehicles gain traction among consumers.

“Widespread deployment of autonomous vehicles is still forthcoming, and even when they arrive, it will be essential to have technology like Halo.Car’s in place that allow human backup in challenging situations,” Chi said in the news release. “Until then, on-demand carshare enabled by Halo.Car’s remote pilot technology can accelerate the transition to EVs while freeing customers from needing to own and maintain a vehicle — a cost that is roughly $6K per year in the US.”

Expanding footprint

Halo.Car first tested its service in February 2021, then kicked off its beta launch in July, offering its service for free and only servicing the downtown Las Vegas area.

Customers can request a Halo.Car, similar to ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft. The driverless EV then arrives at the customer’s location where the customer then takes control of the car. Once they reach their destination, Halo.Car’s remote pilot will take over and steer the car to the company’s headquarters, according to the firm. Vehicles can be rented by the hour or per day.

The company wants to expand its fleet of EVs to 1,000 by the end of 2023. There are also plans to expand its operations to cities outside of Las Vegas.

Halo.Car will still focus on the Las Vegas market after its commercial launch, and it will unveil more plans for the company at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in 2023, according to Nandakumar.

Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on Twitter.