SUMMARY

• Goldman Sachs invests $72.1 million into Go Inc., pushing its valuation to an astounding $1 billion.
• Despite ongoing macroeconomic challenges and industry turmoil, Go Inc. aims to utilize this investment to bolster its app and cultivate innovative mobility solutions.
• While Go Inc. parallels Uber's model in Japan, it is broadening its offerings, promoting safe driving, and showing adaptability to post-pandemic trends.

Goldman Sachs, a prominent U.S. investment bank, has made a significant financial venture into Japan's leading ride-hailing app, Go Inc., elevating the startup's value to an impressive $1 billion, as revealed in a Wednesday press release.

Through an investment of 10 billion Japanese yen ($72.1 million), Goldman Sachs has shown unwavering faith in the startup, despite current macroeconomic challenges and the tech industry still reeling from Silicon Valley Bank's fall earlier this year - a crucial support in the field.

Hiroshi Nakajima, Go Inc.'s President, views this round of fundraising as a milestone, an indication of the startup's solidified social credibility. The company intends to channel these funds into enhancing its app and initiating advanced enterprises originating from the mobility sector to address a multitude of societal concerns.

Though Go Inc. provides a similar service to Uber in Japan, it also embarks on diversifying its portfolio, with a distinctive feature being a product that includes a camera and software to supervise drivers and promote safe driving. Earlier this year, the company made a strategic decision to discontinue its food delivery service in response to post-pandemic behavioral changes, as more people prefer dining at restaurants.

Goldman Sachs has a history of investing in tech firms, with its most renowned contribution being in Uber. Despite divesting entirely from Uber recently, the bank remains optimistic about the ride-hailing industry. Stephanie Hui, Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Global Co-Head of Growth Equity, articulates that Go Inc. is in an advantageous position to lead the digitization and innovation of Japan's taxi market.

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