Ambit represented startup Mileus CZ s.r.o. in negotiating a CZK 10 million venture capital investment from the Nation 1 VC fund.
Mileus aimed to combine public transit with taxi services, offering residents on the outskirts of cities more convenient travel than public transit alone at a lower cost than taking a taxi for the entire trip. The investment, announced on January 22, 2020, was intended to support the platform’s development and the launch of a pilot service.
Public transit and taxis in one trip
Juraj Atlas, co-founder of the transportation service Liftago, is behind the Mileus project. The platform was designed to plan trips combining public transit and taxis and coordinate taxi connections with public transit in real time. It focused primarily on residents on the outskirts of cities.
On the way home, passengers would take public transit and transfer at a connecting stop to a taxi that would take them to their door. The goal was to offer more convenient travel than public transit alone at a lower cost than taking a taxi for the entire trip, making it easier to choose to leave the car at home.
Funding development and the pilot program
According to the press release issued at the time, the investment funding raised was intended to support hiring for the product and software development team and the launch of a pilot program. The Prague pilot was planned for spring 2020, as CzechCrunch reported when the investment was announced.
Testing in Prague and Bratislava
According to CzechCrunch’s December 2021 article, analytical pilot projects had by then taken place in Prague with Liftago and in Bratislava with Hopin. The platform was ready for trial operations as early as March 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on movement delayed its rollout.
