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BMW continues futureproofing with RideCell investment

RideCell provides software for a wide variety of mobility services, including car sharing, ride sharing and dynamic transit.

Andrew Krok Reviews Editor / Cars
Cars are Andrew's jam, as is strawberry. After spending years as a regular ol' car fanatic, he started working his way through the echelons of the automotive industry, starting out as social-media director of a small European-focused garage outside of Chicago. From there, he moved to the editorial side, penning several written features in Total 911 Magazine before becoming a full-time auto writer, first for a local Chicago outlet and then for CNET Cars.
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Andrew Krok
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BMW's not about to let the mobility revolution (or whatever buzzword-heavy phrase you prefer) pass it by. In fact, it has a whole company, BMW i Ventures, devoted to providing venture capital to mobility companies on the rise. Its latest investment involves software that could be crucial to an automaker's next steps.

RideCell dabbles in fleet logistics, offering software to companies interested in making their processes more efficient. BMW's press release also notes that the company creates software for a variety of mobility solutions, including ride sharing and car sharing. Those two services are likely to continue gaining traction in the coming years, especially as we move toward autonomous vehicles.

In the past, BMW has fiddled around with offering up navigation directions that take multiple modes of transportation into account, so dumping money into a company that specializes in software that could directly benefit BMW shouldn't necessarily be seen as a surprise. The company's new BMW Connected app could very well expand to include something like this, as well.

Between GM purchasing Cruise Automation, multiple automakers starting their own mobility spinoffs, and BMW's i Ventures, it's clear that manufacturers are ready to throw down a whole bunch of money to prepare for a future where the status quo of car ownership isn't guaranteed.