Freenow

Freenow is a Germany-based mobility-as-a-service brand whose app allows customers to arrange taxi journeys, private-hire vehicles and selected forms of shared urban transport. Its roots are in mytaxi, a German taxi-booking service founded in 2009 by Niclaus Mewes and Sven Külper through the legal entity Intelligent Apps GmbH. The business initially concentrated on connecting passengers with licensed taxis through a smartphone application, giving users a digital alternative to street hailing, telephone dispatch and traditional taxi-company booking systems. Daimler entered the business in 2014 by acquiring Intelligent Apps. The company subsequently expanded its European footprint and broadened its taxi-booking capabilities. In 2016, Daimler acquired Hailo, a British taxi-hailing application, and folded the service into mytaxi. Further expansion followed through the acquisition of Taxibeat, later known as Beat, in Greece in 2017 and Clever Taxi in Romania later that year. These transactions helped mytaxi build a cross-border network based primarily on licensed taxi supply rather than on a single standardized fleet of company-employed drivers. In 2019, Daimler and BMW combined a number of mobility activities in a joint venture known as Your Now. The portfolio included car sharing, parking, charging and ride-hailing or taxi services. As part of that restructuring, mytaxi was renamed Freenow on 1 July 2019. The new identity positioned the service as a broader mobility platform rather than only a taxi-dispatch application. Freenow subsequently integrated other services and partnered with external operators for micromobility, including e-scooters, e-bikes and e-mopeds. It has also offered access to car-sharing services through partner platforms. The company changed its approach to directly operated micromobility after discontinuing the Hive e-scooter brand in 2020. Instead of maintaining a proprietary scooter fleet in every market, Freenow emphasized aggregation and partnerships, allowing users to find or book vehicles from providers such as Dott, Tier, Voi, Emmy, Felyx and Cooltra where available. In 2020, the French ride-hailing service Kapten was fully integrated into the Freenow platform, further consolidating the Your Now portfolio. Freenow has promoted the electrification of vehicles used through its platform. In 2021, it announced an intention to commit more than €100 million over five years to support the transition toward electric vehicles across Europe. The platform later narrowed its geographic focus following a strategic review and exited markets including Portugal, Romania and Sweden in 2022. The business was acquired by Lyft in 2025 for €175 million, giving Lyft a larger presence in European taxi and private-hire markets. Freenow now operates as a Lyft division and serves more than 150 cities across nine European countries, with its offering varying by market and local regulation.

Freenow began in 2009 as mytaxi, founded by Niclaus Mewes and Sven Külper through Intelligent Apps GmbH in Germany. Its original proposition was straightforward: use a mobile application to match passengers with licensed taxis and reduce the friction associated with conventional taxi dispatch. This model gave taxi operators a digital customer-acquisition channel while giving passengers location-aware booking and ride-management tools. Daimler acquired Intelligent Apps in September 2014, making mytaxi part of the automaker's expanding mobility portfolio. The acquisition placed the company within a broader transformation in urban transportation, in which automotive groups increasingly invested in software, vehicle access and on-demand services. Daimler's purchase of Hailo in 2016 strengthened the taxi-hailing operation in the United Kingdom and other European markets, with Hailo's activities subsequently brought under the mytaxi name. The company continued its European consolidation in 2017. It acquired Taxibeat in Greece, which later operated under the Beat name, and bought Clever Taxi in Romania. These acquisitions added local market knowledge, driver networks and established applications, although the regulatory and commercial conditions for taxi and ride-hailing services differed considerably across Europe. In February 2019, Daimler and BMW announced a joint venture valued at €1 billion to combine several mobility businesses. The resulting Your Now structure brought together services associated with car sharing, multimodal trip planning, parking, charging and taxi or ride-hailing. On 1 July 2019, mytaxi was renamed Freenow. The rebrand signaled an ambition to move beyond a single taxi product and become a broader platform for urban mobility. Freenow's expansion included both direct operations and integrations with third-party providers. The company was associated with Hive, an e-scooter service, but Hive was discontinued by the middle of 2020 as the business shifted toward partnerships rather than operating a proprietary micromobility fleet. The platform could instead provide access to vehicles from operators such as Dott, Tier and Voi for scooters, and Emmy, Felyx and Cooltra for electric mopeds. It also supported e-bike and car-sharing access, including connections with Share Now and Sixt where those services were available. Kapten was fully integrated into Freenow in December 2020. Electrification became an explicit strategic theme. In January 2021, Freenow said it would devote more than €100 million during the following five years to encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles across its European network. Because Freenow primarily connects passengers and transport providers rather than owning a single standardized fleet, implementation depended on local taxi companies, private-hire operators, vehicle availability and national regulation. The company subsequently reviewed its geographic portfolio and withdrew from several countries, including Portugal, Romania and Sweden, in 2022. This represented a move away from maximum geographic coverage toward concentration on markets where the platform believed its taxi and mobility model was most sustainable. In July 2025, Lyft acquired Freenow for €175 million. The transaction made Freenow a Lyft division and gave Lyft an established European network in taxi and private-hire transportation. Freenow is described as operating in more than 150 cities across nine European countries, although the precise services offered differ by city.

• 2025

  Lyft acquisition

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Lyft acquired Freenow for €175 million.

• 2022

  Market exits

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Freenow withdrew from several countries, including Portugal, Romania and Sweden, after a strategic review.

• 2021

  Electric-mobility investment commitment

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Freenow announced a planned investment of more than €100 million over five years to support electrification.

• 2020

  Hive discontinued and Kapten integrated

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Freenow discontinued its Hive scooter operation and fully integrated Kapten into its platform.

• 2019

  Your Now joint venture and Freenow rebrand

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Daimler and BMW created the Your Now mobility joint venture, and mytaxi became Freenow on 1 July.

• 2017

  Expansion through Beat and Clever Taxi

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  mytaxi acquired Beat in Greece and Clever Taxi in Romania.

• 2016

  Hailo is integrated into mytaxi

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Daimler's acquisition of Hailo expanded the taxi-hailing network and led to its integration under the mytaxi brand.

• 2014

  Daimler acquires Intelligent Apps

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Daimler acquired the company behind mytaxi, bringing the service into its mobility portfolio.

• 2009

  mytaxi is founded

  [1]Freenowen.wikipedia.org

  Niclaus Mewes and Sven Külper founded mytaxi through Intelligent Apps GmbH as an app-based licensed taxi-booking business.

A European, app-based mobility platform centered on licensed taxi booking and expanded through private-hire, micromobility and car-sharing integrations.

• Taxi booking · 2009

  Freenow Taxi

  The core Freenow service lets users request and manage taxi journeys through a mobile application. The platform is principally built around licensed taxi supply, with availability, booking methods, payment features and vehicle options varying by country and city.

• Private-hire and ride-hailing

  Freenow Private Hire

  Freenow also provides access to private-hire vehicles in selected markets. This capability developed alongside the company's expansion beyond traditional taxi dispatch and through the integration of services such as Hailo and Kapten.

• Shared micromobility

  Freenow Micromobility

  The app can provide access to e-scooters, e-bikes and e-mopeds operated by external mobility companies. Named partners have included Dott, Tier, Voi, Emmy, Felyx and Cooltra. The model allows Freenow to aggregate vehicles without maintaining a proprietary fleet in every market.

• Car sharing

  Freenow Car Sharing Access

  Freenow has offered access to car-sharing services through partners, including Share Now and Sixt. This is part of the platform's multimodal strategy and is subject to the presence and terms of the relevant partner in each market.

• 2025

  Lyft acquisitionM&A

  Background

  Lyft sought to expand its European mobility footprint, while Freenow provided an established taxi and private-hire network.

  Action taken

  Lyft acquired Freenow for €175 million and took the business into its corporate structure.

  Aftermath

  Freenow became a Lyft division and continued operating as a European mobility brand.

  Acquisition consideration. €175 million (2025 acquisition)

  Source

• 2022

  Concentration on core marketsStrategy

  Background

  Freenow conducted a strategic review of its geographic portfolio.

  Action taken

  The company withdrew from several markets, including Portugal, Romania and Sweden.

  Aftermath

  The business focused its resources on a smaller group of European countries and cities.

  Source

• 2021

  Vehicle-electrification commitmentStrategy

  Background

  Freenow sought to reduce the emissions associated with vehicles used through its European taxi and private-hire network.

  Action taken

  The company announced plans to allocate more than €100 million over five years to promote fleet electrification.

  Aftermath

  The commitment made electric-vehicle adoption a visible part of Freenow's European mobility strategy, although execution depended on local operators and infrastructure.

  Planned electrification resources. More than €100 million planned (Five years announced in 2021)

  Source

• 2020

  Shift from proprietary scooters to partner aggregationStrategy

  Background

  Freenow operated the Hive e-scooter brand while developing a wider multimodal proposition.

  Action taken

  Hive was discontinued by the middle of 2020, and Freenow moved toward partnerships with external scooter, e-bike and moped operators.

  Aftermath

  The partnership model enabled the app to list or provide access to vehicles from operators such as Dott, Tier, Voi, Emmy, Felyx and Cooltra.

  Source

• 2019

  Rebrand from mytaxi to FreenowStrategy

  Background

  The rebrand followed the creation of the Daimler-BMW Your Now mobility joint venture and reflected an ambition to serve more than conventional taxi-booking needs.

  Action taken

  mytaxi adopted the Freenow name on 1 July 2019 and was positioned as part of a broader mobility-services portfolio.

  Aftermath

  The platform expanded its integrations with micromobility and car-sharing providers while retaining taxi booking as its core business.

  Source

• 2022-01-05

  Zipp Mobility and Free Now partner for micromobility bookings in Ireland[2]Zipp Mobility与Free Now合作在爱尔兰提供微出行预订siliconrepublic.com

  Reported: 2022-01-05

  Zipp Mobility teamed up with Free Now to let users book Zipp e-scooter and e-bike rides through the Free Now transport app. The article says the partnership would support Zipp’s planned Irish rollout.

1. 1Freenowen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Zipp Mobility与Free Now合作在爱尔兰提供微出行预订siliconrepublic.com