20 Sep '21
A Russian start-up team called The Mashina is developing a new car subscription service. One can rent a motor vehicle for a month or more, and the start-up takes care of all costs associated with insurance, tax, technical maintenance, and tire shop attendance.
The Mashina was founded last year by Grigory Dudash who once co-founded a team behind an automatic headhunting HR system called Skillaz, and by Eugene Kladovoi, the co-founder of Russia’s first car subscription start-up, Willz. The new start-up raised its initial $200,000 in September 2020 from Digital Disrupt, a venture fund established by a group of former Moscow government officials who oversaw IT development.
Earlier this year The Mashina raised another $800,000 from the government-owned Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF, aka FRII) and Sistema SmartTeñh, a venture fund owned by AFK Sistema, a Russian technology giant.
The global market for car subscription is reported to have had an impressive $3.6bn in proceeds back in 2019 and is expected to hit a $12bn mark by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 23%.