In September Lithuanian startup scene has celebrated two major events: public transportation app TRAFI partnered with Uber, and PlateCulture marketplace for travelers closed a round.
Uber announces partnership with Lithuanian TRAFI
Uber is going to partner with Lithuanian startup TRAFI to make the user experience of the passengers even smoother. Thanks to this partnership, Uber users will be able to build efficient itineraries that combine public transport and rides with Uber drivers.
TRAFI is a Lithuanian startup that was founded in 2013. The company develops a public transportation app for commuters which combines proprietary algorithms, real-time processing of traffic situations, and crowd-sourced reports. As a result, users get very accurate data about travel and arrival times, and can get around efficiently the city. The good thing is that TRAFI is available in offline mode.
TRAFI operates in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, India, Taiwan, and is expanding to US cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and others.
This partnership came as little surprise to me as Uber has been building strong ties in Lithuania. In 2014 they opened a dev office in Vilnius and have been growing the team ever since, and in November 2015 they signed a MOU with the City of Vilnius.
PlateCulture Raises €350K from Practica Capital
PlateCulture: eat with locals. Image credit.
PlateCulture, a marketplace that offers authentic home-cooked meals at locals’ homes, secured €350K from Lithuanian early-stage fund Practica Capital and six business angels.
PlateCulture was founded in 2013 by Reda Stare and Edvinas Bartkus from Lithuania. It’s a sharing economy platform which connects travelers who want to eat local food with locals who are eager to help foreigners to discover their culture. PlateCulture has been focused on Southeast Asia and now has over 50 senior chefs and 700 active users in its Hong Kong network. The startup shows a 20-30% month-on-month revenue growth and is planning to further expand in Asia. Visit StartupLithuania for more info.
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