Martı, Turkey’s leading mobility app, has recently announced its acquisition of all intellectual property and software assets of Boston-based startup Zoba, a global leader in fleet optimization solutions for two-wheeled electric vehicle operations. This strategic move aims to leverage AI-powered optimization technology to enhance two-wheeled electric vehicles and ride-hailing operations, with the goal of increasing ridership and reducing operational costs.
Founded by graduates from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Zoba’s AI-powered SaaS platform and dynamic fleet optimization algorithms are designed to help two-wheeled electric vehicle operators generate more revenue and reduce field operations costs. By utilizing proprietary demand forecasting algorithms, Zoba dynamically optimizes vehicle deployment locations and operational tasks, such as battery swaps, rebalance, and pick-ups, to maximize ridership and minimize vehicle operational inefficiencies.
The acquisition aligns with Martı’s focus on creating operational efficiencies in its two-wheeled electric vehicle operations, which boast a fleet of over 40,000 e-bikes, e-mopeds, and e-scooters. Martı initiated operational efficiency-enhancing projects in 2023 and is expanding on these efforts in 2024.
The acquisition follows a successful pilot project conducted by Martı with Zoba in October and November 2023. During the pilot, the use of Zoba’s software to optimize vehicle deployment locations resulted in increased ridership and positively contributed to profitability for Martı.
Oğuz Alper Öktem, CEO of Martı, expressed enthusiasm about the acquisition, stating, “As part of our efforts to increase revenue and reduce the costs of our two-wheeled electric vehicle operations, we performed pilot projects with several optimization software providers. We achieved the best results using Zoba’s software, and are excited to bring onboard this best-in-class software to increase the availability of our vehicles for our riders and reduce our field operations costs.”
Martı plans to utilize Zoba’s software as the foundation for continuous improvements to critical components of its ride-hailing business, including rider-driver matching algorithms and dynamic pricing engines. Founded in 2018, Martı offers multiple transportation services, including ride-hailing services and a large fleet of rental e-mopeds, e-bikes, and e-scooters, making it Turkey’s leading mobility app.
