Wingz (company)

Last updated

Wingz, Inc.
Industry Vehicle for hire
FoundedFebruary 22, 2011;14 years ago (2011-02-22)
Founder
  • Christof Baumbach
  • Jeremie Romand
  • Fred Gomez
  • Geoff Mathieux
Headquarters San Francisco, U.S.
Website wingz.com

Wingz, Inc. is a ridesharing company that provides transportation services across the United States. The service provides rides focused on healthcare and non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) [1] .

Contents

The company is based in San Francisco, California. [2]

Safety

Drivers

Wingz drivers undergo an extensive vetting and credentialing process that involves a more thorough assessment than traditional rideshare services, resulting in less than 5% of drivers being accepted into the program.

History

Establishment

Wingz (originally known as Tickengo) was founded by Geoff Mathieux, Jeremie Romand, Fred Gomez and Christof Baumbach in April 2011. Tickengo was originally a ride-sharing platform matching drivers and passengers going to the same destination. [3]

In October 2011, Tickengo was the first company in the world to introduce the concept of a peer-to-peer ride online platform, where non-commercial drivers could accept any posted ride request to make some money, even if they were not going to the same destination. This was made available through the Tickengo website. [4] [5]

In October 2012, Tickengo received a "cease and desist" letter from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The company was the first to submit a brief to the CPUC arguing for the legalization of ridesharing companies. [6] [7]

In November 2013, California regulators formally legalized ride-sharing services, classifying them as “Transportation Network Companies”. Thus, Tickengo was the first company in the world to get a license for ride-sharing, before Lyft and Uber obtained theirs. In early 2014 Tickengo rebranded as Wingz. [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco, served as lawyer and advisor to Wingz, representing the company before the California Public Utilities Commission.

Funding

In March 2015, Wingz announced that it had raised $2.7M in equity funding from Ocotea Holdings, Florence Ventures, Blue Angels Ventures, Big Bloom Investments, Binux Capital, Bright Success Capital Limited, Olive Tree, Jack Russo, David Chen, Vincent Ma, Larry Marcus, Xavier Niel and other angel investors. [13]

In July 2015, Wingz received an additional $11M in equity funding from Expedia Group, Altimeter Capital and Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com. [14]


References

  1. ↑ "Non-Emergency Medical Transportation | CMS". www.cms.gov. Retrieved September 2, 2025.
  2. ↑ "Wingz (company)", Wikipedia, September 2, 2025, retrieved September 2, 2025
  3. ↑ Saraswathi, Staff Writer (September 14, 2012). "Tickengo - Click, Sit and Go". TheTechPanda. Retrieved September 14, 2012.
  4. ↑ Laura Wheeless (February 15, 2012). "Tickengo Shifts Ridesharing Into High Gear With Revolutionary "Open Ride" System". FirmenPresse. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  5. ↑ Ryan Lawler (February 18, 2013). "Meet Tickengo, The Ride-Sharing Service That's Already Available Throughout The US". TechCrunch. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  6. ↑ Tomio Geron (October 8, 2012). "Ride-Sharing Startups Get California Cease-And-Desist Letters". Forbes. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  7. ↑ Geoff Mathieux, Willie Brown (January 18, 2013). "Comments - from Willie Brown" (PDF). California Public Utilities Commission. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  8. ↑ Benny Evangelista, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer (December 4, 2012). "State PUC to hold hearings on new cab app laws". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  9. ↑ Geoffrey Fowler, Wall Street Journal Staff Writer (October 28, 2012). "Taxi Apps Face Bumpy Road". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Wingz Joins List Of Ridesharing Companies Permitted To Operate At SFO". CBS SF Bay Area. November 13, 2014.
  11. ↑ "SFO: Transportation network Wingz gets permit to operate at airport". Bay City News. November 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ Ryan Lawler, Staff Writer (October 8, 2012). "While The California PUC Cracks Down On Ride-Sharing, Sidecar And Lyft Commit To Staying On The Road". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  13. ↑ Lora Kolodny, Wall Street Journal Staff (April 13, 2015). "Wingz Raises $2M to Book Airport Rides for People Who Plan Ahead". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  14. ↑ Jeb Su (January 25, 2016). "Wingz Raises $11 Million To Disrupt Airport Rides, Plans Nationwide Expansion". Forbes.
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