Rental Car Startup Silvercar Raises $5M As It Looks At New Markets

Silvercar, a startup looking to improve the rental car experience at airports, has raised $5 million in new funding.

The news was revealed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A Silvercar spokesperson declined to identify the investors who participated in the round, but they sent me the following statement from CEO Luke Schneider:

The equity capital will be used to commence operations in additional markets and develop our offering for rapid expansion. In just six months since launching at DFW, Silvercar has grown to serve four locations, and we plan to aggressively open at more each quarter.

TechCrunch’s Ryan Lawler tried out the service earlier this year — a premium rental car experience that allows customers to use their smartphones to make reservations and even unlock the car. Ryan said he had “hands down the quickest time from airport terminal to getting into a rental car that you can possibly imagine” and a similarly easy time returning the car. Here’s how he characterizes the overall experience:

For urban transportation, there’s Uber. In the hotel industry, there are places like the W. In air travel, there’s now Blackjet. Each costs a premium over standard or economy options, but promise a better, premium experience to users. There didn’t exist any comparable offering in the rental car industry before this. That’s one reason Schneider and the company’s investors think the startup will prosper in what is generally a commodified marketplace.

Silvercar’s expansion efforts have been focused on Texas thus far, with availability in Houston, Austin and Dallas. The company previously raised $11.5 million from Austin Ventures, SV Angel, Chris Dixon, Dave Morin, and CrunchFund (which was founded by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington).