BP through its investing arm has made an investment in Ryd, a German in-car digital payments provider. BP Ventures announced investment of around $12 million in the company, according to a report by TechCrunch.
What is Ryd?
Ryd is a product of ThinxNet GmbH, an IoT / FinTech start-up from Munich. It is a connected car platform that has two offerings, ryd pay and ryd box. Ryd pay is a cross-brand solution for mobile payments directly at the gas pump. It allows users to pay directly via the ryd app at the gas pump or in the car and saving the trip to the gas station shop. The ryd box, an OBD2 connector, turns every car into a SmartCar.
Whats in it for both the companies?
This investment will help the company learn from the startup’s payment solution that may help in its plans to expand its digital offerings. The oil and gas giant BP already offers digital payment options in the UK and the Netherlands through its BPme app . For Ryd the investments means more funds to expand andits service into international markets and scaling its technology to BP customers across Europe.
What BP is doing in smart mobility space?
BP has been making investments in several startups of late, working on a strategy to developing and provide mobility and transportation options in an increasingly smarter, digital world. Some of them are listed below:
⇒ BP ventures invested $7million in smart electric vehicle (EV) charging firm, IoTecha, leading a $13.2 million investment round. The startup is known for its easy-to-use technology that connects EV chargers with the electricity grid using the IoT, optimising the charging process by automating payments and delivering cost and potential energy savings to customers.
⇒ BP Ventures in November 2019, invested €10 million in MaaS Global, a provider of digital mobility software designed to make transport easier and smarter. The company’s innovative Whim app allows customers to access and connect on a single platform all available transport options in a city – from taxis, buses, bikes and rental cars, to ride-hailing services, shared e-scooters and e-bikes.
⇒ BP is also working with Oxbotica, an autonomous vehicle software company. BP also participated and successfully completed an autonomous vehicle trial at its Lingen refinery in Germany, earliar this year.
The company is also working with BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen on separate projects on EV charging.
