Mobility technology company Moove has raised $250m in a Series C funding round to accelerate the expansion of its autonomous vehicle business, marking a new phase in the company’s evolution from vehicle financing and ride-hailing operations.

The funding round, which valued the company at $2.1bn, was led by Mubadala Investment Company, with Woven Capital and Ion Pacific serving as co-leads.

Founded in Nigeria in 2020 and now headquartered in Dubai, Moove said its experience financing and managing human-driven mobility fleets provided the foundation for its entry into autonomous vehicles.

Moove’s co-founder and co-CEO, Ladi Delano, said the company’s background in supporting ride-hailing drivers and operating large vehicle fleets positioned it well to participate in the emerging autonomous mobility market.

Despite its expansion into autonomous technology, Moove continues to operate its traditional mobility business.

The company owns and manages a fleet of 42,000 ride-hailing vehicles across 14 countries and provides vehicle financing solutions to gig economy drivers.

The company employs about 3,300 people globally and began exploring autonomous vehicles in early 2023 after assessing opportunities across the sector.

Moove identified four key players in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem — autonomous vehicle developers, vehicle manufacturers, mobility platforms such as Uber, and consumers — before deciding to pursue a role in the emerging market.

The latest capital injection will support Moove’s efforts to scale its autonomous vehicle operations while strengthening its existing mobility and vehicle financing businesses across global markets.

“None of these players want to own the metal,” Delano told TechCrunch, referring to the vehicles.

“In this world, who owns the vehicle? Who operates the vehicle? Who orchestrates the vehicle? Who does the servicing, the maintenance? Who does the lost property? Who does the cleaning?” Delano asked.

He added that Moove’s experience in managing large vehicle fleets and providing financing solutions positioned the company to transition into autonomous vehicle operations.

“Let’s create a product where we own, operate, and orchestrate autonomous vehicles, and let’s go and find partners to do it with — and that’s essentially what we did,” Delano said. “In 2023, we started talking to every single AV company you could imagine, and as you know — God would have it, luck would have it — we managed to partner with Waymo first.”