Bain Capital Ventures Invests $43 Million in Passport

Passport, the world’s leader in mobile payments for the transportation industry, announces it has raised an additional $43 million in Series C funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, one of the world’s leading growth equity firms. The deal is the third round of funding for Passport, bringing the total invested capital to $60 million. Bain Capital Ventures joins existing investors Grotech Ventures, MK Capital and Relevance Capital.

Passport has seen vigorous growth of 352 percent within the past three years. Since last year, Passport has grown its staff to nearly 100 employees with plans to hire 50 more in 2018. Building on this momentum, Passport will use the supplemental financing to continue expanding its global reach, accelerate product growth and innovation, invest in additional sales and marketing resources, and continue evaluating strategic acquisition opportunities.

“We welcome the Bain Capital Ventures team as partners who align really well with both our vision and our culture,” said Bob Youakim, Passport’s founder and CEO. “The new investment validates our position in the industry and gives us additional resources to expand quickly and strategically into new markets, innovate rapidly, and support our clients around the world. We believe that with technology we can affect meaningful change by improving the way people interact within their communities.”

Passport, known for powering cities with innovative technologies, has played a principal role in solving transportation problems within communities. These opportunities have propelled the fintech company to develop solutions specializing in parking, transit and tolling. This includes mobile payments for parking, mobile ticketing for transit, mobile cashless tolling, digital permits and citation management, allowing its clients to gain operational efficiencies.

Bain Capital Ventures Managing Director, Matt Harris, said his firm aims to create partnerships with exceptional founders and management teams to help them successfully grow their businesses and better serve their customers.

“Having reviewed the industry, we believe Passport has emerged as the clear leader in the sector. Passport's progressive and dynamic culture is exactly what we look for in a company,” Harris continued. “We believe Bob and his team have the industry experience and vision necessary to lead the revolution in this space.”

Passport aims to reduce operational complexity and deliver intelligent data to improve decision-making for its clients. With a laser focus on that objective, Passport is creating a platform which advances the operations within urban environments. To date, Passport has been incorporated by more than 450 agencies in over 5,000 locations worldwide, including Chicago, London, Toronto, Boston, Vancouver, Portland, Montreal and Miami.

About Passport

Passport transforms the way cities manage their operations. The fintech company’s mobile-first platform has been adopted by more than 450 cities, universities, and private operators around the world in cities including Chicago, Toronto, London, and Miami, across more than 5,000 locations. Passport’s product lines – parking, transit and tolling payments, parking enforcement, and permit management – enable organizations in the public and private sectors to streamline their operations, enhance customer service, and make data-driven decisions. Consistently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies and Best Places to Work in Charlotte, North Carolina, Passport has an ingrained practice of putting People First – a guiding principle in its culture.

Passport is backed by a group of investors, including Bain Capital Ventures, Grotech Ventures, MK Capital and Relevance Capital. Learn more, or get in touch with Passport at passportinc.com.

About Bain Capital Ventures

Bain Capital Ventures invests from seed- to growth-stage in fast-growing startups that are leveraging technology to disrupt existing markets or create entirely new ones. Our partners each have extensive operating experience and deep vertical expertise across a range of sectors, including infrastructure software, SaaS and data services, security, commerce, fintech, and healthcare. Since 1984, we’ve helped launch and commercialize more than 200 companies including select investments in Jet.com, DocuSign, SendGrid, AvidXchange, Kiva Systems, LinkedIn, InAuth, and SurveyMonkey. Through our affiliation with broader Bain Capital Private Equity, Public Equity, and debt funds, we have unparalleled access to Fortune 5000 companies and a global footprint of colleagues focused on helping our portfolio companies grow. BCV has approximately $3 billion of assets under management and offices in the Bay Area, New York City and Boston. Follow BCV at @BainCapVC or visit www.baincapitalventures.com.