SideCar

Sidecar was a US-based vehicle for hire company that provided transportation and delivery services. It was founded in 2011 in San Francisco and closed on December 31, 2015. History Sidecar was founded in September 2011 by Sunil Paul, CEO, Jahan Khanna, CTO, and Adrian Fortino. The company expanded its operations into Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Austin. At the South By Southwest festival in 2013, Sidecar made all rides during the conference free. In 2013 the company started operating in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Charlotte, Chicago, San Diego, Long Beach and Oakland. Investments Sidecar was backed by a number of wealthy investors including Union Square Ventures, Avalon Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Google Ventures, and Sir Richard Branson. The company raised in series A funding from Google Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners in 2012. Legal challenges and approval in California In the fall of 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a cease and desist letter to Sidecar (along with rideshare companies Lyft and Uber) and fined each $20,000. However, in 2013 an interim agreement was reached reversing those actions. In September 2013, the CPUC unanimously voted to make the agreement permanent, creating a new category of service called "transportation network company" to cover Lyft, UberX, and Sidecar, and making California the first state to recognize such services.