Zipcar to get $10m in funding

"Zipcar, the Web-based car-sharing service, will receive $10 million in venture capital funding to help establish a West Coast beachhead and roll out service in San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, Ore."

Benchmark Capital of Menlo Park, Calif., is providing Zipcar with its first round of institutional funding. Earlier funding for Zipcar, which was launched in 2000, came largely from angel investors, Griffith said.

''Benchmark's investment marks the transition of Zipcar and car-sharing from a revolutionary concept to an established and vital national transportation solution" for urban dwellers, Griffith said.

Zipcar currently operates in Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. Zipcar is profitable in existing markets and projects 2005 revenue of $15 million, Griffith said."

[The Boston Globe]

How does the company exit? Perhaps an independent taxi cab company will pick them up. Or maybe a Greyhound or fleet management company.