Kyte

Shut DownRaised Since Featured

Rental cars, delivered

On-demand car rental service that delivers vehicles directly to customers’ doorsteps.

Founded January 2019San Francisco, CA~200 people$299M raisedFeatured at Series A

drivekyte.com 𝕏Twitter inLinkedIn Crunchbase

MobilityAutomotiveOn DemandCar RentalLogisticsGig EconomyConsumer

About

Kyte was a fleet-logistics platform that reimagined car rentals by delivering vehicles directly to customers’ homes or offices. Instead of waiting in line at a rental counter, users booked through the app and a gig-economy driver brought the car to their door. The company operated its own fleet across 14 US markets, handling delivery, pickup, and refueling with no extra charge. At its peak, Kyte billed itself as the best competitor to Hertz, generating $31.9M in revenue in 2023 with a 201-person team. The company raised over $300M in equity and debt financing before defaulting on loans and entering receivership in August 2025.

DailyDropout Take

We featured Kyte during their rapid growth phase as they scaled to 14 US markets with a fleet-delivery model that eliminated the worst parts of renting a car. Despite strong traction and $300M+ in financing, the capital-intensive fleet model proved unsustainable when loans defaulted.

Discovery signal: Series A raise and rapid market expansion

What Makes Them Unique

Unlike traditional rental companies, Kyte delivered cars to customers’ doors using gig drivers and operated its own fleet, combining the convenience of on-demand services with the reliability of a managed fleet.

$31.9M

Revenue (2023)

14 US cities

Markets

201

Team size (peak)

Target Markets

Urban car rentersBusiness travelersAirport alternatives

Founders

Ludwig Schoenack

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

MBA from UC Berkeley Haas. Previously McKinsey consultant and venture partner at Contrary.

LinkedIn 𝕏Twitter

Nikolaus Volk

Co-Founder & Co-CEO

Former software engineer at Uber.

Francesco Wiedemann

Co-Founder & CTO

Previously worked at ReachNow (BMW’s car-sharing service).

Funding History

Seed$9M

Jan 1, 2021

Lead: DN Capital

DN CapitalAmplo VC

Series A$30M

Oct 1, 2021

Lead: Park West Asset Management

Park West Asset ManagementSterling RoadDN CapitalAmplo1984 VenturesFundersClubMoving CapitalRosecliff VenturesSeraph GroupUnpopular VenturesUrban Innovation Fund

Debt$200M

Mar 1, 2022

Lead: Goldman Sachs

Goldman SachsAres Management

Series B$60M

Nov 1, 2022

Lead: InterAlpen Partners

InterAlpen PartnersValor Equity PartnersAnthemisCiti VenturesHearst VenturesDN Capital1984 VenturesFJ LabsUrban Innovation Fund

Investors

Firms

InterAlpen Partners(Lead — Series B)Park West Asset Management(Lead — Series A)Goldman Sachs(Lead — Debt)DN Capital(Lead — Seed)Valor Equity PartnersAres ManagementCiti VenturesHearst VenturesAnthemis1984 VenturesFJ LabsUrban Innovation FundAmplo VC

Press & News

Kyte raises $9 million to deliver rental cars to your doorstep

TechCrunch·Jan 5, 2021

Kyte Raises $30 Million Series A to Bring Cars to People’s Doorsteps Nationwide

PR Newswire·Oct 14, 2021

Kyte Closes $60M Series B in Pursuit of Becoming the World’s Largest Operator of Electrified Fleets

PR Newswire·Nov 14, 2022

Kyte, which billed itself as the ‘best competitor to Hertz,’ shuts down

TechCrunch·Aug 15, 2025

Competitive Landscape

Hertz Turo Zipcar Enterprise

All Startups Visit Kyte

Last updated: Feb 15, 2026