US-based auto sector financial technology startup Way.com is set to enter the UAE market, marking yet another success for the Gulf country’s recently announced policy to attract foreign investments and talents in the technology sector.
Way.com, a D2C – direct to consumer marketplace – will offer a basket of services in the auto sector such as car financing, car insurance, breakdown services, car wash and parking assistance to customers in the UAE market.
The venture offers these services in tie-ups with operators across these verticals in the market.
“We plan to set up our office in Dubai at the earliest and roll out our services in the next 3-6 months,” Binu Girija, company founder and CEO, told Arabian Business in an exclusive interview.
“We will be focusing on the Dubai market and will be looking to invest up to $5 million in the initial phase to commence our operations,” revealed Girija, the Indian-American founder of the Silicon Valley incubated startup.
Girija said the leadership’s vision to make Dubai – and also the UAE – as a world class city and destination for quality living has been attracting tech-savvy population in numbers, making it a highly tech-savvy market.
“This, we believe, will offer bright prospects for our business model,” he said.
Girija said the venture has already begun the preparatory work for its UAE entry plans with initiating talks with operators in various verticals in the auto sector in Dubai for tie-ups.
“We are also open to entering into a partnership with a local company which will help us to get a head start and achieve faster growth in the UAE and the larger GCC market,” he revealed.
Way.com’s auto insurance vertical, launched in November 2020, achieved $60 million in annualised premiums in its first year in the market.
It partners with over 120 carriers and provides customers with the most competitive rates available for auto, renters, motorcycle, and home insurance.
Girija said since their business is a ‘platform play’, its expertise can be replicated in different geographies that continue to grapple with all the issues which the venture addresses and offers to resolve.
“The reason I started Way.com was because there was a need in the marketplace for affordable car services. I also want to make car ownership affordable for everyone,” he said.
“Dubai and the larger UAE market, with its very high internet and smartphone penetration levels and modern infrastructure, offer the best market conditions for our venture’s business model to not only succeed but make a significant impact in the local market and economy as well,” Girija said.
He said portal’s ‘platform play’ would also allow it to scale up the business much faster than its competitors, and also expand to other markets in the GCC region.
By using more of the company’s car services, customers can build up their ‘loyalty points’ and gain more economic benefits, thus inducing them to stay on the platform.
Way.com operates across all 50 states in the US and is currently in the process of getting its model validated in Canada for entry into that market.
Girija said the Way.com platform has about five million registered user base as of now in the US market, and was growing at a faster clip.
The Fremont-based startup’s annualised revenue hit $120 million in July 2021.
Launched in 2016 with airport parking as its flagship offering, Way.com, billed as the first super auto app, has since then grown into a robust and full-fledged insurtech and fintech platform for all car-related services in the USA.
It offers monthly and hourly parking reservations, car wash bookings, finding and reserving the best city and airport parking, auto finance, Uber ride, and roadside assistance.
“Besides providing great convenience, our services offered at a fair price also resulted in substantial savings for the customers,” Girija said.
“The average car ownership in the US is estimated at 1.8 per person and our services help our customers to save $1000-$1500 on an annual basis,” added Girija, who is a serial entrepreneur.
Way.com is his third startup venture. The earlier two ventures were also in the auto sector.
The company’s car insurance vertical was ranked the number 1 auto insurance app in product quality in 2021 by unit Q.
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