Singer-songwriter Vance Joy sat in a dimly lit event space in an industrial estate in central Sydney on Wednesday night, making haste stops during the entire 27-minute scene to talk about renting a car in the US .
“I ended up getting the Turo car, which made the whole experience even better … it was a great vibe,” said Joy, whose real name is James Keogh. “It makes you feel at home… anyway, the song was probably written by me at that time. It’s called saturday sun“
A group of start-ups and influencers chronicled their performance when Vance Joy launched Turo.Credit:Nick Bonnie Hardy
Last week, Turo, the US car rental company touted by Keogh, began taking bookings in Australia.The company lets car owners list their vehicles online for rent, They are encouraged to build small rental businesses on Turo’s platform.
With tech valuations plunging and cost-cutting rife in the industry, the Keogh-led Turo event felt like a throwback to a more spendthrift era, when money wasn’t an issue in the startup world.
For example, Uber paid superstar singer Beyonce $6 million in equity for a private concert in Las Vegas in 2015. But behind tech crowd gossip at the event about Keogh’s pay ($10,000? $25,000? Most believe it’s $50,000, but the company declined to confirm) and influencer selfies with luxury cars, the launch promises a close race The battle between Uber and Turo on the streets of Australia.
Turo poses a threat to Uber’s biggest acquisition in Australia: It bought a similar homegrown startup, Car Next Door, in January. There’s also more competition for smaller local car-sharing companies like GoGet and many traditional car rental companies.
Uber announced it had acquired car-sharing service Car Next Door in January, near the peak of the tech bubble, before Russia invaded Ukraine and soaring interest rates sent valuations plunging.
sydney morning herald and age According to documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the price can be revealed to be $115 million, more than double the $50 million suggested in previous reports.
For Uber, this is already dominated In the Australian ride-sharing and food delivery business, the acquisition of Car Next Door, now rebranded as Uber Carshare, is an attempt to get a piece of the new transport pie. It too is poised to challenge Turo on its own turf when it launches a car-sharing service in the US next year.
