Kyte secures $200 million asset-backed financing facility

Kyte, the San Francisco-based startup that offers a delivery and pick up service for car rentals, announced the closing of an asset-backed credit financing of up to $200 million from Goldman Sachs and the Ares Global Management Alternative Credit Team to accelerate the company’s fleet growth and margin expansion.

Kyte is currently available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Boston, Washington D.C., New York City, Jersey City, Brooklyn, Chicago, Miami, Seattle, and Philadelphia. It offers car rentals for individuals and a monthly car subscriptions for businesses. The startup also plans to launch a Tesla subscription next month that includes maintenance, insurance, roadside assistance, and more.

Speaking of insurance, Kyte is hiring a director of insurance who “will define and shape insurance” for the company. One initiative will involve building out over the counter liability and damage insurance as a profit center for the business.

“We are building a real business with real assets in the real world. To get this right, we needed a debt capital provider that shares our ambitious vision and can put real money behind it. The credit facility from Goldman and Ares will catalyze our growth as we build towards the future of transportation. The problem Kyte is solving is giving access to cars to people that live in cities. These cars are a core element that we wanted to get right, and we’re committed to being a leader in customer-centricity and technology-powered operational excellence.” – Ludwig Schoenack, co-founder of Kyte.

“We are excited to support Kyte in its next phase of growth. With a shared vision for the future of the transportation industry, this capital solution demonstrates Ares’ focus on innovative businesses that are disrupting traditional business models.” – Felix Zhang, managing director in Ares Alternative Credit.