SoftBank Corp. leads Series B investment round into travel- and mobility-app integrator, Splyt

LONDON, UK AND TOKYO, JAPAN – Media OutReach – 18 June 2020 – Splyt, a
scale-up integrator of mobility apps and travel platforms, has closed a USD
19.5 million Series B investment round to support its expansion. The round was
led by SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434),
the Japan-based telecommunications and technology company, who will receive a
seat on the Board and a significant share in the company. American Express Ventures, the strategic investment group of
American Express, joined in the round, as did existing investors.

Splyt makes global travel easier by enabling the seamless integration of
mobility services into travel platforms, superapps and wallets. By
interconnecting apps, end users can access multiple services on a single app,
which greatly increases convenience for the user, and loyalty to the app
provider. Splyt has an extensive track record of such interconnections, having
already integrated ridehailing into major platforms including Alipay, Grab, and
Booking.com. With this investment, Splyt aims to expand its leading global
network with additional mobility services, including bikesharing and scooters.

With its investment and business
partnership, SoftBank Corp. will be able to deliver on its growth strategy
through the interconnection of different apps. By collaborating with Splyt,
SoftBank Corp. will be able to interconnect the different app platforms of
group companies and Splyt’s partners to realize superapps that seamlessly
combine multiple services into a single interface. This will make it possible
to maximize synergies between different services.

 

Philipp Mintchin, Co-founder and CEO of Splyt: “Our aim is to enable our partners to provide
seamless mobility solutions to their customers, letting them feel at home
anywhere in the world. It’s a great pleasure to collaborate with some of the
best companies in the world, and to be able to welcome SoftBank Corp. and
American Express Ventures as investors to Splyt.”

 

Ken Miyauchi, President & CEO of SoftBank Corp.:
“With the continued widespread
adoption of smartphones, apps are becoming increasingly integral to people’s
daily lives when they shop, eat and travel. The proliferation of different
platforms, however, is giving rise to the need for superapps that combine
multiple functions into one app. Splyt is a global leader in integrating
different mobility, wallet, travel and other platforms, and will enable us to
promote superapps to further grow usage and our customer base. Splyt’s
technology and extensive partner network will also help us leverage the
strengths of SoftBank’s assets and deliver on our ‘Beyond Carrier’ growth
strategy. We look forward to building a long-lasting collaboration with Philipp
and his outstanding team.”

 

“Splyt’s technology helps mobility
app companies improve the ride booking process, making it easier for customers
regardless of their location,” said Julia
Huang, Managing Director at American Express Ventures. “Their
technology is highly applicable to other sectors that have the same need for a
simplified experience. Our team is excited to support Splyt’s next stage of
growth.”

About Splyt

Splyt is the leading global mobility network.
Our technology integrates ridehailing, airport transfers, bikesharing and
scooters into our partners’ travel platforms, enabling them to unlock the world
for their customers.

 

We work with a trusted mobility network in over
2,000 cities and 150 countries to enable travel platforms, wallets and
superapps to keep their customers within their own app, improving customer
loyalty and increasing revenue.

 

Splyt is a talent-heavy scale-up based in London
and Singapore. Our current staff of 50 includes 17 nationalities and speaks
over 20 languages. For more information, please visit www.splyt.com.

About
SoftBank Corp.

Guided by the SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy,
“Information Revolution — Happiness for everyone,” SoftBank Corp. (TOKYO: 9434)
combines telecommunications services with cutting-edge technologies to create
and operate new businesses. SoftBank Corp. serves more than 45 million mobile
consumer and enterprise subscribers in Japan, and as part of its “Beyond
Carrier” strategy, is redefining industries by leveraging its unique strengths
as a network operator to fully harness the power of 5G, big data, AI, IoT,
robotics and other key technologies. To learn more, please visit www.softbank.jp/en/.