Getaround Moves to San Francisco

Getaround, the company that leads peer-to-peer car sharing, has announced the opening of a new headquarters. The company has moved its offices to San Francisco in order to accommodate increasing demand for its services throughout the country and its growing team. It says it’s proud to maintain its new headquarters in the booming South of Market area. The decision comes after recent rollouts in Portland, Oregon and Austin, Texas, while it’s also been recently recognised as the leader in peer-to-peer car sharing by Frost & Sullivan.

The car sharing network allows people everywhere to safely share vehicles by the hour, day or week using a secure marketplace online. It provides patent-pending in-car and smartphone technology that creates a seamless sharing experience. Every rental includes insurance of up to $1,000,000, which is supported by Berkshire Hathaway.

Customers can join Getaround for free and conveniently hire nearby vehicles for a little as $3 an hour. This saves consumers hundreds on auto payments, maintenance and insurance. At the same time, car owners can share their vehicles to make money and offset the high cost of owning the car – all while positively impacting the environment.

Getaround has kept seeing dramatic growth since its grand prize win at TechCrunch Disrupt last year. It has officially launched services in four cities as well – the two mentioned before, San Francisco and San Diego. The company’s staff has more than quadrupled over the same period of time, and now it has a total of 30 full-time employees. There are plans for an additional five workers to be hired in the near future as well.

On top of this, as the company continues to expand throughout the country, more local jobs will be created. Also throughout its expansion, Getaround has raised $3.4 million in seed funding, added over 10,000 car listings and received a landmark federal grant for $1.7 million.

The new headquarters’ offices for Getaround feature open spaces, a roof deck, high ceilings and a gym area. It’s been designed to create an open work environment that promotes collaboration and creativity. This includes Idea Paint on many surfaces, which turns walls into whiteboards. The company has also invested in Meraki Routers to help handle its increasing data needs.

Extra features at the new building include Steelcase Air Touch desks that easily convert from the sitting to standing position and meet top environmental standards, as well as iPhone-enabled door locks made possible by Lockitron. There’s also a full kitchen to promote a community-oriented working space with a continuous supply of healthy snacks and drinks, as well as catered lunches.

Getaround chief executive Sam Zaid says that their consistent and quick growth, which was the key driver for them to move offices, is evidence of the increasing adoption of the car sharing, peer-to-peer model and hard work and commitment their team has put in during the last year. The team has done well getting accustomed to what works and what doesn’t. Further launches into other markets are imminent over the next year, but Getaround will continue striving to ensure customers get near perfect experiences as they roll out to these new destinations, he added.