Nigerian-founded mobility technology company Moove has reached a major milestone after raising $250 million in a Series C funding round, pushing its valuation to $2.1 billion and officially earning a place among Africa's unicorn startups.
The investment marks one of the biggest funding announcements for an African technology company this year and underscores growing investor confidence in the future of mobility and autonomous transportation.
The funding round was led by Mubadala Investment Company and co-led by Woven Capital, Toyota's growth fund, alongside Ion Pacific. It also drew participation from new investors, including BlueCrest Capital Management, Sona Asset Management, and The Raptor Group.
Existing investors deepened their commitment to the company, with backing from BlackRock, MUFG, Franklin Templeton, Uber, Left Lane, Silverbacks Holdings, Square Associates, The Latest Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and the Ontario Power Generation Pension Plan.
Based on publicly disclosed transactions, Moove's $250 million Series C is the largest single funding round announced by an African startup so far in 2026.
The development comes amid increasing investor appetite for Africa's mobility sector. Another mobility startup, Spiro, has attracted a combined $270 million this year across two separate funding rounds—comprising a $215 million equity raise and an additional $55 million investment from Chinese investment firm NewTrails Capital.
Funding to Accelerate Autonomous Mobility
Moove said the newly raised capital will primarily be deployed to expand its autonomous vehicle business, including investments in fleet ownership and its robotics-first depot infrastructure, known as "Nests."
These facilities are designed to support charging, maintenance, servicing, and the continuous operation of autonomous vehicle fleets while enabling the company to scale its operations into new international markets.
As part of the expansion strategy, Moove plans to grow its autonomous vehicle workforce by more than 220%, increasing the team from roughly 150 employees today to 500 employees before the end of the year.
The company said it aims to become the operational backbone of autonomous mobility by building the infrastructure required to deploy self-driving fleets efficiently across cities.
According to Moove, the success of autonomous transportation depends on more than advancements in vehicle technology. It believes that fleet ownership, charging infrastructure, maintenance networks, operational coordination, and around-the-clock execution are equally essential for large-scale deployment.
Leadership Sees Infrastructure as the Next Big Opportunity
Moove's Co-founder, Co-CEO and Advisory Board Chairman, Ladi Delano, described autonomous mobility as the next major infrastructure race.
"Every major technology revolution becomes an infrastructure race. The internet required data centres. AI required compute. Autonomy requires fleets, charging, maintenance, data systems and 24/7 operations in every city and that is what Moove is building," Delano said.
He added that the company, which launched in Lagos five years ago, has transformed into a global mobility platform focused on enabling billions of autonomous journeys worldwide.
Global Expansion Continues
Founded in 2020, Moove has rapidly evolved into one of the world's largest ride-hailing fleet operators. The company now employs approximately 3,300 people globally and operates around 42,000 vehicles across 29 cities in 13 countries.
Its international growth has been driven by both organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, including Kovi in Brazil and Tokyo Taxi in Japan. The company also disclosed that its annual recurring revenue (ARR) has grown to $420 million.
Moove is further strengthening its autonomous mobility ambitions through its partnership with Waymo, currently operating autonomous vehicle fleets in Phoenix and Miami, with plans to extend operations to London.
Africa's Unicorn Club Expands
Following its latest funding round, Moove's $2.1 billion valuation places it ahead of several existing African unicorns whose valuations remain below the $2 billion mark.
Flutterwave remains Africa's highest-valued startup at around $3 billion, closely followed by OPay, which is also estimated to be valued at roughly the same level.
Moove's entry into the billion-dollar club increases the number of African unicorns to 10, following Moniepoint's unicorn milestone in October 2025.
Other companies in Africa's unicorn ecosystem include Andela, Chipper Cash, Wave, Tyme, MNT-Halan, and Interswitch, highlighting the continent's growing influence in the global technology landscape.