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Israeli Transportation App Moovit Gets $50 Million Investment from Intel, Partners

Moovit, an Israeli app developed for helping commuters get to their destination using public transportation, just raised $50 million from investors led by Intel, TechCrunch reported Wednesday.

Moovit, which has 120 million users in 80 countries worldwide, has raised about $131 million in funding and was valued at $450 million in 2015.

The investment was described as “strategic” as the traffic data from Moovit will be integrated in the navigation system being developed by MobilEye, which was purchased by Intel last year for $15 billion. In addition MobilEye founder and Intel Senior Vice President Amnon Shashua will join Moovit’s Board of Directors.

“Moovit expects to surpass 1 billion users by 2021 and to expand significantly the number of cities that use Moovit’s data analytics to improve urban mobility,” Moovit co-founder and CEO Nir Erez said in a statement acknowledging the investment. “We are especially thrilled about our plans to collaborate with Mobileye. It’s a synergistic relationship at an exciting time to be shaping the future of urban mobility.”

With MobilEye and other startups focusing on autonomous or self-driving vehicle technology, Israel is viewed by many as a center for automotive innovation. Last fall, Hyundai and Volkswagen announced that they would open research and development centers in Israel to take advantage of the talent base in Israel. Other automaking giants that have research and development centers in Israel include GM, China’s SAICHondaVolvo, and Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz.

[Photo: Moovit Screenshot ]