Via is the latest in a lengthening string of Israeli mobile services that are changing the way we move around cities, or further. Operating primarily in the New York City and Chicago regions, the application enables tens of thousands of passengers each day to share their ride with others heading the same way.

And this is why the start-up has just raised a mere US$100m in funding. Not bad for a four year old outfit!

Truth be known, Via is merely following on from other successful Israeli firms, who have found a niche in the field of transportation. For example: –

• Waze is a highly practical application that allows even the most inept driver to plan a route, discovering traffic jams and police traps in advance. The company is backed by a billion dollar investment from Google.
• Moovit enables its customers to calculate which is the best form of public transport to use. The company value is assumed to be around US$0.5billion.
• Gett, the major competitor to Uber, is now valued at about US2 billion.

And so the list goes  on, even extending to international sea freight.

Barely four months ago, top analysts were predicting that one of the key trends in 2016 would be the onset “of more investment in sharing economy companies to reduce the environmental footprint of various industries”. Any guesses at this stage how Israeli start ups are preparing for 2017?