Booster, the same-day fuel delivery service, has announced it raised $56 million Series C funding led by Invus Opportunities, with participation from existing partners Madrona Venture Group, Vulcan Capital, Maveron, Conversion Capital and Perot Jain LP.
The four-year old Silicon Valley startup is also adding two new strategic investors – Enterprise Holdings Ventures, the venture capital arm of the car rental and fleet management company, and Total Ventures, the venture capital arm of the integrated energy company Total SA.
“Our customers and their employees have been asking us to expand into new markets for quite some time,” said Booster CEO Frank Mycroft in a statement. “This funding and the caliber of those behind it gives us the ability to do so, and build the on-demand mobile fueling category we created. We will continue to revolutionize the way consumers and fleets get their fuel.”
Booster targets office parks and corporate customers with a fleet of mini-tankers that fit into a parking space and demonstrate the agility of a Honda, a spokesperson said.
Customers, typically the employees of a large corporate campus or workers at an office park, simply request a ‘boost’ at work via the app, pin their car location and get a full tank before they leave the office. Corporate customers include Facebook, PayPal and HPE among others. The price is comparable to the cost of fueling up at a gas station.
Booster has also expanded into fleet fueling with customers including Stanley Steemer, Two Men and a Truck, Hardin Honda and Traffic Management Inc. According to the spokesperson, the company has also serviced sporting events and is considering expansion into other venues with a high density of parked vehicles.
“Booster has demonstrated the ability to address a key operational and logistical challenge for us – fueling vehicles at one of our large airport locations,” said Bob Wetzel, Vice President of Corporate Development for Enterprise Holdings. “The end result is a significant reduction in cost, plus an increase in our efficiency. As a result, we identified the potential of delivering this kind of service on a larger scale nationwide.”
The service also reduces road congestion, CO2 emissions, and protects community land and water from the negative effects of underground storage tanks, Booster claims. To date, Booster has prevented the release of over 2.32 million pounds of carbon by eliminating travel associated with going to get gas, everyday gas station spills and the need for underground gas station storage tanks.
Additionally, a May 2019 ALG Environmental study found a significant reduction in smog when Booster was used instead of a traditional gas station.
“Booster’s new supply chain and new proprietary fueling system reduces emissions of volatile organic compounds – the compounds that create haze and smog over our cities – by 26 percent relative to retail gas stations,” said Mycroft. “This means not only do we reduce smog every time we deliver gas, but for every four vehicles we fuel, we pay it forward and take the smog emissions of one car off the road.”
The latest funding round brings the amount of money Booster has raised to more than $88 million. Investor appetite signals growing support for mobile fueling as traditional retail gas stations navigate changing mobility trends.
