GreenRoad nets $15M for driving software

Redwood Shores, Calif.-based GreenRoad said today it secured $15 million in growth funding for its software and hardware combination that helps drivers improve their fuel economy.

The funding is expected to help GreenRoad accelerate its expansion with enterprise fleet customers.

New investor DAG Ventures led the round, with participation from existing investors Benchmark Capital, Virgin Green Fund, Amadeus Capital and Balderton Capital. The company raised a Series C round of $17.5 million in July 2008 from the previous investors.

GreenRoad said its technology can help drivers improve fuel economy by 10 perecnt. The real-time feedback from the hardware installed on the vehicle provides coaching, reporting and risk analysis tools that the company says can also reduce crash costs by 50 percent.

The technology analyzes a driver’s maneuvers, recognizing unsafe or inefficient movements and immediately alerts the driver and sends feedback to the Web. The company presented the technology to investors at the Cleantech Forum XXI in San Francisco in February (see Hottest startups woo cleantech investors with wide-ranging tech).

GreenRoad expects to sell more than 20,000 vehicle subscriptions by the end of 2009 and close to 200,000 subscriptions by 2011.

The company sells its products in the U.S. and UK, and has an R&D center in Israel.

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