Taxi comparison and booking app Karhoo is to close down its service after struggling to compete with online cab firms such as Uber and Lyft.
Karhoo confirmed on its website that it is to close and that executives are now looking at the “next steps for the business”.
It employs between 180 and 200 staff in London, Israel, New York, and Singapore, with half of those in London.
“It is with much regret that we have to announce that Karhoo has had to close its service and is now looking at the next steps for the business,” the announcement read.
“The Karhoo staff around the world in London, New York, Singapore and Tel Aviv have, over the past 18 months, worked tirelessly to make Karhoo a success.
“Many of them have worked unpaid for the last six weeks in an effort to get the business to a better place.
“Unfortunately, by the time the new management team took control last week, it was clear that the financial situation was pretty dire, and Karhoo was not able to find a backer.
“We would like to thank our staff, our partners, the fleets around the world that shared our vision, and the hundreds of thousands of people who downloaded the app and supported what we were trying to do.
“The world needs a Karhoo.”
Karhoo, founded in London 18 months ago before relocating to New York, described itself as a vendor-neutral platform for licensed and accredited taxi firms and allows passengers to compare traditional cabs by price, proximity and vehicle style.
The firm has a network of 120,000 cabs in the UK with a presence in London, Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham, Leicester, Derby, Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle – and had planned to expand further both here and internationally.