African-born mobility infrastructure company Moove has secured $250 million in a Series C funding round, propelling the company to a $2.1 billion valuation and reinforcing its position as one of the continent’s most successful global technology companies.
From Lagos startup to global mobility Unicorn
Founded in Nigeria by Jide Odunsi and Ladi Delano, Moove first gained recognition by addressing one of Africa’s most persistent mobility challenges—providing vehicle financing to ride-hailing drivers through an innovative revenue-based financing model.
Over the past six years, that model has evolved dramatically.
The company has expanded far beyond Africa into Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America, transforming itself from a mobility finance startup into a global operator at the forefront of autonomous transportation.
Its latest valuation underscores how African-founded companies are increasingly competing—and winning—on the global stage in frontier technologies.
The funding round was led by Mubadala and co-led by Woven by Toyota, Toyota’s growth fund, alongside Ion Pacific. The fresh capital will accelerate the expansion of Moove’s autonomous mobility business, including the rollout of autonomous vehicle fleets, robotics-powered depot infrastructure, and entry into new international markets.
The announcement marks another defining moment for a company that began operations in Lagos, Nigeria, with just 76 vehicles in 2020. Today, Moove operates approximately 42,000 vehicles across 29 cities worldwide, employing more than 3,300 people globally.
Building the infrastructure behind autonomous mobility
While much of the world’s attention has focused on advances in autonomous driving technology, Moove is positioning itself as the company building the operational backbone required to make autonomous transportation commercially viable.
Through its strategic partnership with Waymo, the company has emerged as one of the world’s leading third-party autonomous fleet operators, with live operations already underway in Phoenix and Miami, and future deployments planned for London.
The new investment will finance the expansion of autonomous fleet ownership as well as the development of robotics-first depots—known internally as “Nests”—where autonomous vehicles are charged, serviced, maintained and coordinated for continuous operation.
Rather than simply financing vehicles, Moove is increasingly positioning itself as a global mobility infrastructure platform.
Aboyeji: “Today belongs to the Moove team”
Among those celebrating the milestone was Nigerian entrepreneur and early investor Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, whose reflections offered a deeply personal perspective on the company’s journey.
While congratulatory messages poured in following the announcement, Aboyeji redirected the spotlight to Moove’s leadership.
Today belongs to the Moove team who have painstakingly built this incredible business led by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi.
Aboyeji also described the milestone as an opportunity to reflect on what he called God’s faithfulness throughout his entrepreneurial journey.
Quoting John 3:2, he wrote:
No one can do these things except God is with him.
He recounted a twelve-year journey that began when he returned from Canada to Nigeria with a vision of helping build globally significant companies from Lagos.
That journey has included helping launch Andela, which opened pathways for thousands of African software developers to participate in the global economy through remote work, and Flutterwave, whose payments infrastructure has become one of Africa’s most influential fintech platforms.
Reflecting on Moove’s earliest days, Aboyeji recalled the uncertainty surrounding the company’s launch during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He was with us during those dark COVID days at the very beginning of Moove as we wondered whether we had not just made the worst mistake of our lives buying 76 cars to put Uber drivers to work right at the beginning of the worst pandemic the world has ever seen.
Today, those initial 76 vehicles have grown into a global fleet numbering in the tens of thousands.
A new chapter for African innovation
Moove’s latest funding is significant not only because of its size but because of what it represents.
Few African-founded companies have successfully transitioned from solving local market problems to becoming critical infrastructure providers in cutting-edge global industries such as autonomous mobility.
The investment also reflects growing confidence among international institutional investors in African entrepreneurial talent capable of building globally scalable businesses.
As autonomous transportation moves from experimentation to commercial deployment, Moove is betting that the future will not be defined solely by autonomous driving software, but by the infrastructure that keeps those vehicles operating safely, efficiently and continuously.
For Africa’s technology ecosystem, the milestone serves as another reminder that companies born on the continent are increasingly shaping industries far beyond its borders.
Numeris Media is Media Partner to GITEX Nigeria – The Largest Tech & Startup Show in West Africa