Porsche joins Lufthansa's Rydes project

The car manufacturer and the airline want to use the company to offer a modern alternative to company cars.

The Lufthansa Innovation Lab founds Rydes. The new investor is Forward31, a subsidiary of Porsche. Lufthansa and Porsche both hold minority shares. Other shareholders are the two founders René Braun and Martin Miodownik. "With Forward31, Porsche's company builder, we have gained an important strategic partner who shares and enriches our vision of a seamless mobility chain," says Gleb Tritus, Managing Director of the Lufthansa Innovation Hub.

Rydes was founded in 2018 and offers a booking system for corporate customers. Companies can provide their employees with a monthly contribution. This can then be booked individually via the platform, including for car sharing, scooters or scooters. All journeys are offset CO2-neutrally. "Instead of enticing them with a company car, companies can enable their employees to be flexible and sustainably mobile via our app. In addition, mobility providers can generate additional business by connecting to our platform," says co-founder René Braun. Rydes' first customer is Wework, which rents out offices in coworking spaces to self-employed people and start-ups.