Bellhop Rebrands to Obi and Launches $5M Funding Round

    NEW YORK, NY, March 11, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Using sophisticated technology, Obi enables consumers to get instantaneous access to pricing, pick up, and journey times amongst hundreds of taxi, ridehail, and black car providers. Obi is 100% free to use and has been optimized for both iPhone and Android devices. The award-winning app has just rebranded, and is launching a new funding round.

The simple truth is, everyone has been overpaying for rides because until now, there hasn't been a convenient way to compare competing service levels. Comparison shopping has become the norm for hotels, airlines, and all travel except for taxis and ridehails. Obi's mission is to change that. Now with just one click, Obi users can view competing prices and travel times, and with just one more click, order the service which best matches individual preferences for speed and price. On average, Obi users save 20% per ride which can add up to annual savings of thousands of dollars for regular riders.

Payam Safa, CEO described the process behind the rebranding from Bellhop to Obi, "After three years of focused development to bring transparency and innovation to the global ridehailing market, we're proud to announce a bold new milestone. Today, Bellhop is rebranding as Obi. This marks the start of an exciting new chapter of product development as we begin to bring Obi to an even wider audience. We've built a huge community of loyal users and couldn't be more thankful for our rapidly growing user base."

As part of its $5M funding round, Obi has opened up a Republic crowdfunding campaign to enable individual investors to take part in the round as well as angels and institutional investors.

Ji Young Choi, COO of Obi commented, "From the onset, our mission has been simple - to empower riders globally to make smarter travel decisions by comparing every ride option all within one app. As part of previous rounds, we ran a crowdfunding campaign, and the support and feedback from users was invaluable. That's why we are delighted to open up this opportunity again through the Republic crowdfunding site. This app is built for consumers, and it's essential they can participate in the company growth as much as anyone else."

The Republic crowdfunding campaign can be found at http://republic.co/obi

Over the coming months, Obi is launching additional new features and designs as it continues to expand its offering.

Obi has paying contracts with dozens of ridehailing and taxi companies worldwide, and as economies re-open, it is well positioned to benefit from the increase in global tourism as well as from the return of commuting and normal, everyday life. Ridehailing is ingrained in so many aspects of life and that growth is only set to continue.

One of Obi's advisors, Harry Campbell commented, "I've been taking Uber and Lyft for many years now and I've also been covering it from the driver's side. One thing I've always been surprised by is the pricing difference between Uber and Lyft at the exact same time and often on the exact same route. You can save a ton of money by comparing prices every time you ride...I'm excited about the prospects of Obi and think you should be too."

Obi has a world-class board of industry advisors including Harry Campbell, founder of The Rideshare Guy blog and podcast; Matyas Tamas, Co-Founder Ontiq and former Head of Supply Data Science, Uber; Dimitrios Skaltsas, Co-Founder of intelligencia.AI and former Senior Manager, McKinsey; Norm Rose, President, Travel Tech Consulting, Inc; David Baggett, Founder, Inky.com and former Co-Founder, Board Member ITA Software, Inc; Beth Birnbaum, COO of PlayFab and former SVP Product, GrubHub; and Len Sherman, Professor of Business Strategy and Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School.

Ridehailing Data: Ridehailing and taxi revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2021-2025) of 10.36%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$385,942m by 2025. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to US$176.45 annually.*

Additional links:
Obi Website: http://rideobi.com
Obi Videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV-m2OZpMNoTGf7DzJwb43w
Twitter: https://twitter.com/obiriders
IG: www.instagram.com/obiriders
Republic campaign: https://republic.co/obi
*source Statista.com

Contacts:
For media interviews, Q&A and any inquiries:
Payam Safa - CEO, [email protected]
Ji Young Choi - COO, [email protected]

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