February 18, 2025
The way entrepreneur Mark Cuban tells it, when his daughter raved about her experience using group rideshare service Fetii Inc., first he got curious, which led to him getting out his checkbook along with other investors.
Joined by Y Combinator, Goodwater Capital and others, Cuban’s Radical Investments fund led a $7.35 million seed round funding in Fetii, the Austin, Texas-based company announced Tuesday.
“My daughter has used it many times and raved about it,” Cuban explained in an interview conducted via email. “She suggested I reach out. She thought it would be a great investment. So I talked to the team and really love what they are doing. So I invested.”
“I shared the bigger vision for Fetii—what it is now and what it has the potential to become,” continued Fetii co-founder and CEO Matthew Iommi, in an interview. “Mark immediately recognized the scale of what we were building and he understood the long-term plan and the impact Fetii could have, and that’s when we both knew that joining forces would be the key to unlocking its full potential. From there, Mark decided to invest, and his involvement has been instrumental in helping Fetii expand and execute on our vision.”
Founded in August, 2020 Fetii operates a tech-driven rideshare platform without owning any vehicles. Instead, it partners with Fetii vehicle service providers, or VSPs, who acquire and manage fleets of 15-passenger vans. These VSPs list their vans on the Fetii platform, where they are used to transport groups of users, generating revenue for both the operators, the drivers, and the platform. This model allows Fetii to scale rapidly without the overhead of vehicle ownership while providing a flexible earning opportunity for VSPs, according to Iommi.
Users simply request a ride through the Fetii app, and a large-capacity vehicle arrives within minutes, Iommi explained. Fetii also makes payments are made with a QR-based system that allows riders to split fares easily.
The company now operates in more than 68 U.S. cities, including Nashville, Tennessee, Tempe, Arizona, Atlanta, Georgia and Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Lubbock and College Station, Texas.
“In 2024 alone, we transported over 1.5 million passengers, and we’re currently moving over 200,000 passengers each month,” said Iommi.
In addition to its rideshare platform, the company has established Fetii Media, which drives awareness of the platform and provides an outlet for customers to share their experiences via a newsletter and on Tik Tok, YouTube and Instagram.
“Everything we create—whether through Fetii Ride or Fetii Media—is designed to bring people together and help them create lasting memories,” said Iommi.
To help build Fetii Media, the company is working with Barry Poznick, president of MGM Television.
Looking ahead, Iommi lays out immediate goals for Fetii that include “closely monitoring the trends in autonomous vehicles and AI, as our app generates highly valuable trip data that many potential partners are eager to tap into. Electric vehicles are a key consideration for the future, especially in relation to the integration of autonomous options into our rideshare app.”
Now that Cuban has some financial skin in Fetii, he says he’s ready to provide his long-established business expertise to the young company, “as much as they need me to be. Right now they throw questions at me all the time.”
Indeed, Iommi says the high-profile entrepreneur who is also a star of the ABC program “Shark Tank” and owner of the NBA Dallas Mavericks, has become a valuable and more than simply a major investor.
“While he’s an investor and strategic partner, he’s also a close advisor and someone I can turn to for guidance on many aspects of the company,” said Iommi. “We have open, honest conversations about everything from scaling Fetii to navigating challenges, and he’s always there to offer support, whether it’s a big decision or a small insight.”
When asked what one piece of advice he’d give to Iommi about creating a secure future for Fetii, Cuban offered, “Don't rush. It's not a race. Pay attention to support services, they are critical for fleet management and drivers.”
Sound advice from a satisfied customer’s dad.