Moove, an Africa-born mobility fintech backed by Uber, has acquired Kovi, a Brazilian urban mobility provider, in an all-share transaction. The deal marks a significant step towards Moove's goal of building the world's largest ride-hailing fleet, with the company's annual revenue now projected to reach $275 million.

The acquisition brings together two companies that have been tackling the same challenge – providing financing solutions for ride-hailing drivers. Founded in 2018, Y Combinator-backed Kovi launched to make vehicle ownership more accessible in Brazil. Following the acquisition, Kovi will continue to operate under its brand, with its executive and management teams remaining unchanged, pending approval from the Brazilian antitrust authority.

Moove's co-founder and co-CEO Ladi Delano expressed excitement about working with Kovi's team, stating that the acquisition unites two companies with a similar mission. "We're incredibly excited about working with a fantastic team of like-minded individuals at Kovi who set up this business to address a similar problem that we found in Nigeria," he remarked.

The deal cements Moove's position in Latin America, giving the company a major foothold in Brazil, the region's largest ride-hail market. Moove has recently launched operations in three cities across Colombia and Mexico, and plans to expand further across Latin America. Delano noted that Kovi is one of the top two players in Brazil, and the acquisition puts Moove in a top two position in the largest single market in Latin America.

Moove has built a third pillar in the global mobility marketplace by offering vehicle supply to ride-hailing platforms. This includes its flagship Drive-to-Own product, a taxi and employment model, and an emerging autonomous vehicle (AV) business line involving AI-driven mobility. Delano emphasized that AI will play a key role in Moove's mobility strategy, spanning the entire business, from optimizing traditional ride-hailing services to improving fleet management.

Kovi's proprietary technology and algorithms will "complement and strengthen our existing move AI mobility strategy and ensure that we can start to deliver an improved service and product to our customers around the world," according to Delano. The acquisition also makes Kovi's investors shareholders in Moove, aligning their growth trajectories.

Kovi had raised $104 million in a Series B funding round in 2021, with investors like Valor Capital, Prosus Ventures, and Quona Capital. Despite raising funds to expand across Latin America, Kovi primarily focused on Brazil, reporting $45 million in ARR and growing 15% month-over-month.

Moove, which raised a $100 million Uber-led Series B last year at a $750 million valuation, has secured over $500 million in debt and equity from backers like Mubadala, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Janus Henderson, and the IFC (World Bank) since its launch five years ago. Delano declined to comment on potential new fundraising efforts, instead focusing on driving the company's capex-heavy business to profitability this year and realizing its vision of building the largest ride-hailing fleet globally.

The acquisition is a significant milestone for Moove, which began with 76 cars in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2020 and has now grown to 36,000 cars operating in 19 cities across six continents. As Moove continues to expand its operations, the deal with Kovi solidifies its position as a major player in the global mobility marketplace.