New premium racing app debuts in SP with armored cars and its own fleet

How about taking a trip through a racing app safely, calmly, with trained drivers who will even open the door for you? Well, that's the idea Rhinoa mobility startup, which debuted on Monday, the 15th, in upscale neighborhoods in the city of São Paulo.

The service will only feature luxury, armored cars, from its own fleet or rented. They undergo cleaning and inspection daily.

The platform promises a 5 to 7 minute wait to find available cars. The price will cost two to three times more than the most expensive competitor on the market.

For now, the app will work between the regions of Jardim Paulista, Vila Olímpia, Moema, Vila Nova Conceição, Itaim Bibi, Jardins and Pinheiros and with a waiting list.

“If the customer wants to order outside this area, they can, but in this case they will pay for the transportation of our vehicle, from our area to them”, explains Daniil Sergunin, CEO and co-founder of Rhino, exclusively to IstoÉ Dinheiro.

The company, however, plans to expand to almost the entire capital of São Paulo (by the end of the year), Rio de Janeiro and Brasília. The objective is to reach the end of 2024 with 40 times the size of the operation it has today.

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CEO

Sergunin explains that he has lived in Brazil for 3 years. He is Russian and was in Switzerland before coming here. The CEO says that the population there doesn't need to think about security, that's basic.

“The reality here is different and there are only a few ways to protect yourself from the violence that exists in the city and one of them is an armored vehicle.”

The startup

Founded in October 2023, the startup has a team of 18 people and received more than US$400,000 from angel investors in its first weeks of operation. Now, it is preparing to start the seed investment round.

Training and base

The base operates in a rented house in São Paulo, where the fleet is located and training is carried out, one of the differences, according to the CEO.

“The selection process is fundamental for our drivers. We have two value propositions for our customers: safety and comfort. Security with the armored vehicle itself and the selected and trained driver. Our HR team interviewed almost 200 people.”

The CEO emphasizes that training continues after selection, which covers how to behave with customers and how to use the application, to name a few. They also see a psychologist.

Rhino started its operations with 20 trained drivers, but there will be expansion. There are more than 3,000 drivers on the waiting list to join the platform.

Once approved, he has several employment contract options, Mei being one of them.

The driver works 8 hours a day and returns the vehicle to the base. Rhino promises a “salary” of R$4,000 and can reach up to R$8,000, with incentives, if the professional has no delays, good evaluation and no fines, for example.