This move, if completed, will be one of the largest debt raises ever by an African tech company, and a big step by Moove in the competitive American mobility market.

Multiple sources close to the matter, who requested anonymity due to the private nature of the deal, revealed that the funding round is oversubscribed. 

A mix of private credit institutions and traditional banks are reported to be participating, suggesting a high level of confidence in Moove’s financial structure and business model.

There’s no official comment yet from Waymo, and Moove’s co-founder, Ladi Delano, did not confirm the details of the raise. However, he stated:

“Moove has built strong relationships with some of the world’s leading lenders. We have also fully repaid our first-ever debt facilities, which signals our maturity and marks a key milestone that demonstrates the strength of our platform as we enter the next phase of global autonomous-vehicle infrastructure deployment.”

Moove has come a long way since launching in 2020. Initially built to finance vehicles for ride-hailing drivers across Africa, the company now has operations in more than a dozen countries, including Mexico, India, and the UAE. It currently manages a fleet of 38,000 vehicles.

Revenue performance has also been commendable. Sources say Moove has already pulled in close to $400 million in revenue this year, up from $275 million in 2024. On the back of that growth, the company has reportedly repaid $100 million in loans.

In December 2024, Moove entered a strategic deal with Waymo to finance and deploy self-driving vehicles. The model is changing as Moove plans not just to finance these cars, but to own and manage a fleet of autonomous vehicles in the U.S., a transition from its asset-light leasing strategy to a more infrastructure-heavy operation.

With full control of the fleet, Moove is going beyond enabling mobility to building an end-to-end logistics and transport system powered by autonomous tech. This could open new revenue streams and transform investor perception of the company, from a vehicle financier to a future-forward operator in the mobility tech space.

Despite challenges in the global venture capital space, Moove has kept raising. Last year, it secured $110 million, including a $100 million Series B led by Uber, which pushed its valuation to $750 million.

If this current $1.2 billion deal closes as expected, Moove would be edging closer to unicorn status, with the distinction of executing one of the largest debt deals ever seen from Africa. More importantly, it would place the startup squarely in the centre of a global push toward autonomous transport.

There are still questions about execution risk, regulatory navigation in the U.S., and the capital intensity of fleet ownership. But Moove is betting big and it’s doing so with lenders, not just equity backers, showing up at the table.

For an African startup that began with financing Uber drivers in Lagos, it’s a great pivot into a future where it may soon be running fleets of driverless cars across America.

If successful, this raise will push its valuation beyond the $1 billion mark, giving the company unicorn status and enable Moove to become one of the top global drivers of sustainable urban transport.

In just over a year, Moove’s annual revenue jumped from $115 million to $360 million. That’s around $30 million a month, driven mostly by its core business of financing cars for Uber drivers and a newer, more focus on fleet management in the U.S. market. 

Moove is no longer just a vehicle financing outfit as it’s now embedding itself in the emerging world of autonomous mobility.

Moove is already managing fleets for Waymo, the self-driving arm of Google’s parent company Alphabet. In Phoenix and Miami, the company handles cleaning, charging, and storage of Waymo’s electric robotaxis. That may sound like back-end work, but it’s a tough role. 

As Waymo rolls out commercial operations in new cities, Moove ensures these vehicles are ready for the road every single day.

Co-founder Ladi Delano said, “The current agreement with Waymo is limited to fleet management.” But Moove wants more. The company is preparing to purchase autonomous vehicles (AVs) directly from manufacturers, lease them to entrepreneurs or businesses, and still maintain full control over their operations, from depot management to charging and cleaning.

Moove is betting that today’s Uber drivers could become tomorrow’s robotaxi fleet owners. By giving them access to mini-fleets of AVs, the company is creating a model where ownership and scale intersect, without sidelining drivers.

The strategy is already global. Moove has financed cars in Africa, India, and the UK, using a drive-to-own model that lets drivers eventually own the vehicles they work with. Now, it’s taking that experience into markets with far more complex regulatory and operational demands, like the U.S.

Its recent acquisition of Brazilian mobility startup Kovi also shows how far Moove is willing to go to scale quickly. That move instantly expanded its revenue base and widened its footprint in Latin America.

To date, the company has secured $750 million in funding, both debt and equity, from investors including Uber, which holds a stake of over 10%, and the Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Investment Company.

Moove has hired over 90 people in the U.S. this year alone. Across the world, its workforce has grown to more than 2,100. This is a global operator with eyes on the evolving future of how people and goods move.

Moove is building the infrastructure behind the AV space. While companies like Waymo develop the tech, Moove is betting that whoever owns and runs the fleets, keeps them clean, charged, and on the road, will hold real power.

And that’s what this $300 million is really about.