It seems venture capital firms think there is profit in sharing as four of them have just invested 73 million euros in the long-distance ride-sharing internet company BlaBlaCar.<br /><br />The French start-up has garnered investors from Europe and the United States as the sharing economy takes off through companies like Airbnb and Uber. <br /><br />The VC firms are Accel Partners, ISAI, Lead Edge Capital and Index Ventures.<br /><br />BlaBlaCar has said it is not yet profitable with the 10 to 12 percent commission it takes on what each passenger pays in set contributions towards travel expenses. <br /><br />But it now operates in 12 countries and membership is growing rapidly with more than eight million having signed up. <br /><br />Usage has tripled in the last year to one million passengers who have used it in the last month and it has recorded 3.25 billion kilometres of shared trips. <br /><br />The influx of investor cash will enable BlaBlaCar to set up in more countries as well as expand by buying out rivals. <br /><br />And an explanation of the name. For in-car conversational compatibility, taciturn users are rated as blah, chatty ones as blahblah and motormouths as blahblahblah.
