Kyte, an on-demand car rental service, launched in Seattle on Friday.
The service delivers rental cars directly to drivers. Customers can purchase the car through an app or the company’s website by choosing a specific delivery time and location. They can rent by day, week or month, eliminating the wait times and paperwork of traditional rental car services.
San Francisco-based Kyte will be available in Seattle and the Ballard, Fremont, Capitol Hill, Madison Park and Columbia City neighborhoods. Seattle marks Kyte’s eighth operating city.
Kyte was co-founded in 2019 by Francesco Wiedemann, who previously worked for ride share company ReachNow. Other founders are Nikolaus Volk, previously a software engineer at Uber, and Ludwig Schoenack, previously a venture partner at Contrary.
Kyte’s rideshare competitor in Seattle is GIG, a AAA service which allows customers to rent cars by the day, hour or minute — lending itself to one-way rentals. Wiedemann told GeekWire Kyte differentiates itself with longer term rentals.
“We also wanted to give Seattle residents and travelers the freedom and flexibility to explore all of the great destinations the city has to offer — from hiking at Mount Rainier or Olympic National Park to seeing the Snoqualmie Falls on a whim.” Wiedemann said.
Wiedemann said customers can choose between vehicles, including economy, sedan and SUV. Customers pay a daily rate, and an additional delivery and return fee which totals $19.
This summer has seen an increase in business for Kyte, Wiedemann said, and is at 40% month-over-month growth rate.
Previously: GeekWire’s Great Race II: By taxi, Lyft, e-bike, bus and more — here’s who won in Seattle rush hour