Karos
Karos Mobility SAS is a Paris-based AI-powered carpooling platform founded in 2014 that matches daily home-to-work commuters via iOS and Android apps, serving over 1 million users across 25+ French regional authority partnerships and European markets including Germany and Denmark.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersParis, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Karos does
Karos Mobility SAS is a French carpooling software company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Paris, operating an AI-powered mobile application (iOS and Android) that matches daily commuters for home-to-work carpooling. The platform processes structured commute data — departure and arrival locations, times, and user habits — through a recommendation engine that automatically surfaces compatible carpoolers and a route-optimization layer that minimizes driver detours when new passengers join. Verified identity profiles, post-trip reviews, and a guaranteed-return taxi/VTC service in case of driver cancellation form the trust and reliability layer. Supporting features include a Ladies Only matching option, an in-app invite flow, and no-commitment flexibility allowing users to switch roles between driver and passenger.
The business operates a three-channel go-to-market: (1) self-serve consumer downloads from app stores in 9 languages; (2) B2B enterprise partnerships offering employees free carpooling with reserved parking and dedicated coaches (named customers include Airbus and Stelia in Saint-Nazaire); and (3) B2G partnerships with 25+ French regional and metropolitan transportation authorities (Île-de-France Mobilités, Tisséo Voyageurs, La Région Réunion, La Région Pays de la Loire, Lyon Métropole, Aix-Marseille-Provence Métropole, SMMAG Grenoble, Lorient Agglomération, Troyes Champagne Métropole, and others) that subsidize and promote the service. The platform reports 1M+ active carpoolers, 7M+ completed trips, and 4,010,200 kg of CO2 avoided since founding. Drivers earn an average of €97/month through cost-sharing while passenger fares are kept at bus-ticket-equivalent levels via public subsidies.
The company monetizes through transaction commissions on cost-shared trips, recurring B2B enterprise fees, and B2G subsidy contracts. In October 2022 Karos acquired German carpooling app Goflux to enter Germany, Denmark, and additional European markets. In November 2023 the company closed a €17 million Series A led by Citizen Capital and Ring Capital to fund international expansion and R&D. From December 2025, Karos is migrating its Île-de-France user base to the public-sector-owned Covoit IDFM application operated by Île-de-France Mobilités, signaling an evolving role from independent consumer app toward embedded public mobility infrastructure. The company operates with 11-50 employees.
Karos firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Karos
- Legal name
- Karos Mobility SAS
- Website
- https://karos.fr
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Karos Mobility SAS is a Paris-based AI-powered carpooling platform founded in 2014 that matches daily home-to-work commuters via iOS and Android apps, serving over 1 million users across 25+ French regional authority partnerships and European markets including Germany and Denmark.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Karos industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Carpooling Platform
- NAICS
- Taxi and Ridesharing Services (485310), Taxi and Ridesharing Services (48531)
- SIC
- Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100)
- akta.pro primary industry
- App-Based Dynamic Carpooling (Real-Time Matching) (THADAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Car Rental & Car-Sharing Booking Platforms (BPAMAIAF)
Keywords
Where Karos is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Paris
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Karos business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Transaction fees on carpooling trips: Karos facilitates cost-sharing between drivers and passengers, with the platform taking a commission on each transaction. Drivers earn money per trip while passengers pay subsidized rates often comparable to bus tickets.
- Regional authority subsidies: French regional authorities and transportation agencies (Île-de-France Mobilités, Tisséo Voyageurs, La Région Réunion, La Région Pays de la Loire, Lorient Agglomération, etc.) subsidize carpooling costs to promote sustainable mobility. Passengers pay less while drivers earn more through these programs.
- B2B enterprise partnerships: Companies partner with Karos to offer free carpooling to their employees as an employee benefit, often with free parking spots and dedicated coaches. Enterprises may pay for premium positioning or administrative services.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Standard passenger pricing |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Driver earnings |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Enterprise partner program |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Karos product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Karos operates an AI-powered mobile carpooling platform that connects drivers with available seats to passengers on similar home-to-work commute routes via iOS and Android applications. The service uses automatic habit-based matching, verified user profiles, and integrates with regional transportation authorities for subsidized pricing comparable to bus tickets. The platform also offers enterprise mobility programs for employers and public sector partnership programs for territorial authorities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Karos mobile app iOS and Android mobile application that connects drivers and passengers for daily home-to-work carpooling. Features AI-powered automatic habit-based matching, verified user profiles (ID cards and driver's licenses), post-trip reviews, Return Assistance guarantee providing taxi or VTC rides home in case of last-minute driver cancellation, Ladies Only safety option, and intermodal integration with public transportation networks. Available in 9 languages.
- Karos for Enterprises
Quantifiable outcome
- 90 kg CO2 emissions avoided per user per month
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Karos
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Karos technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability3 records
Feature6 records
Karos partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- GofluxcoreAcquired German carpooling app Goflux as part of Karos's expansion into France, Germany, Denmark, and other European countries. The merger aimed to improve mobility services using AI technology and expand into four new countries by end of 2024.
- Île-de-France MobilitésflagshipMajor regional transportation authority partnership for Île-de-France region. Users transitioning to official Covoit IDFM app from December 2025 with full account transfer capability. Île-de-France Mobilités is the largest transport authority in France covering the Paris metropolitan area.
- Tisséo Voyageurs (Toulouse)coreTransportation authority for Toulouse metropolitan area partnered with Karos to launch Covoiteo by Karos in January 2024, bringing carpooling to the agglomeration with subsidised rates for users.
- La Région RéunioncoreRegional authority financing carpooling programs for La Réunion residents. The territory was ranked champion of France for carpooling growth, with the highest increase in carpooling practice in recent months.
- La Région Pays de la LoirecoreRegional authority subsidizing carpooling across Nantes, Angers, Saint-Nazaire, Le Mans, and surrounding areas. Financing programs where passengers pay less and drivers earn more through bonus payments.
- La Métropole de LyoncoreMetropolitan area partnership where carpooling practice grew 2.7x between October 2022 and October 2023, achieving national record for carpooling growth according to Observatoire national du covoiturage.
- Aix Marseille Provence MétropolecoreMetropolitan authority partnership launched in 2024 to bring carpooling to the territory marked by one of France's highest single-occupancy vehicle rates. Karos won the public tender for this mobility initiative.
- Lorient AgglomérationminorLaunched Karos in January 2023 to promote carpooling for home-to-work commutes. Within 6 months, 3,000 residents had used the platform, demonstrating rapid adoption in the territory.
- Le SMMAG (Grenoble)minorMetropolitan transportation authority (Syndicat Mixte des Mobilités de l'Aire Grenobloise) partnership for carpooling services in the Grenoble metropolitan area.
- Troyes Champagne MétropoleminorLaunched court-voiturage service in September 2024 for home-to-work commute carpooling across the Troyes Champagne Métropole agglomeration.
- SMT Petit Cul de Sac Marin (Guadeloupe)minorTerritorial authority in Guadeloupe where Karos was launched. According to Observatoire national du covoiturage, Guadeloupe became the territory with the fastest carpooling growth in France.
- Pays de MontbéliardminorLaunched €1 carpooling service with Karos for residents to accelerate carpooling adoption in the Montbéliard area, aiming to reduce traffic and emissions.
- Caux Seine agglo (Port-Jérôme-sur-Seine)minorLocal agglomeration partnership offering subsidised carpooling for residents, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions from home-to-work commutes.
- Airbus (Saint-Nazaire)minorMajor aerospace employer in Saint-Nazaire where carpooling has taken off among employees. Karos helps Airbus employees coordinate home-to-work commutes.
- Stelia (Saint-Nazaire)minorAerospace company in Saint-Nazaire where carpooling adoption has grown significantly among employees using the Karos platform.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Karos competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Uber: Global mobility platform whose UberPool/Uber Commute products overlap with Karos' daily commute offering. While not focused on European carpooling tenders, Uber's scale and capital pose a long-term competitive threat if it decides to push deeper into subsidized European carpooling.
- Waze Carpool: Google-owned carpooling service for daily commutes, comparable to Karos on use case and target user. Operates at much larger scale in select markets but with limited presence in France, where Karos has a regional advantage.
- BlaBlaCar: European carpooling giant with significantly larger scale than Karos and a broader offering spanning long-distance and (via BlaBlaCar Daily) commute trips. Competes indirectly through superior network effects, brand recognition, and cross-product user funnel.
Direct peers
- Klaxit: French daily carpooling app that was a direct competitor to Karos for home-to-work trips, recently acquired by Geodis. Competes on the same B2G authority-tender market and B2B enterprise channel in France.
- BlaBlaCar Daily (BlaBlaLines): BlaBlaCar's daily commute carpooling product, the most direct competitor to Karos in the French home-to-work carpooling niche. Competes head-to-head for the same commuter use case, regional authority partnerships, and enterprise B2B channel in France.
- OuiHop: Regional French carpooling platform active in several French regions (Pays de la Loire, Sud Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), competing with Karos for the same authority-tender and daily commute use case in overlapping territories.
- Goflux: German carpooling app acquired by Karos in October 2022; relevant as a benchmark for the German DACH market Karos is expanding into, and was previously a competing daily carpooling platform in Germany.
- Covoiturage.fr: French national carpooling platform operated in partnership with the French government, competing with Karos for both B2C commuters and authority partnerships across French territories.
Regional players
- Heetch: French rideshare/VTC platform competing with Karos for mobility share among younger urban users and partnerships with French transport authorities, though focused on evening/night rideshare rather than daily commute carpooling.
Others
- Île-de-France Mobilités (Covoit IDFM): Paris-region transport authority that built the Covoit IDFM white-label carpooling app using Karos' underlying model. Becoming both a major partner and a quasi-competitor as Île-de-France Karos users migrate to the official IDFM app from December 2025.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Karos social profiles
Digital presenceKaros financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Karos leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Karos subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Karos funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds9 records
Investors15 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Karos M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Karos
What does Karos do?
Karos operates an AI-powered mobile carpooling platform that connects drivers with available seats to passengers on similar home-to-work commute routes via iOS and Android applications. The service uses automatic habit-based matching, verified user profiles, and integrates with regional transportation authorities for subsidized pricing comparable to bus tickets. The platform also offers enterprise mobility programs for employers and public sector partnership programs for territorial authorities.
Is Karos a public or private company?
Karos is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Karos founded?
Karos was founded in 2014. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Karos based?
Karos is headquartered in Paris, France, in the Europe region.
How does Karos make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Transaction fees on carpooling trips are the primary driver. The others are regional authority subsidies and B2B enterprise partnerships.
Who are Karos's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Uber, Waze Carpool and BlaBlaCar. Direct peers are Klaxit, BlaBlaCar Daily (BlaBlaLines), OuiHop, Goflux and Covoiturage.fr. Heetch is listed as a regional player. Île-de-France Mobilités (Covoit IDFM) is listed as an others.
Does Karos have an API?
No public API is recorded for Karos.
What industry is Karos in?
Karos's product category is Carpooling Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THADAFAA, App-Based Dynamic Carpooling (Real-Time Matching), with a secondary code of BPAMAIAF, Car Rental & Car-Sharing Booking Platforms. Its NAICS code is 485310 and its SIC code is 4100.