Cargo Lets Brazil Uber Drivers Sell To Passengers

Cargo has gone international by expanding its partnership with Uber to include Brazil.

Uber drivers in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro can sign up for Cargo, which allows them to earn additional income by selling products to passengers during rides.

Launched in 2017, Cargo provides ridesharing drivers with free boxes filled with items such as popular snacks and even phone chargers. Riders can use Cargo’s mobile web menu on their smartphones to easily buy what they need.

Drivers in Brazil can go to their local Ipiranga ampm gas station to collect one of the Cargo boxes stocked with local snacks such as Toddy Cookies and Amoras Fini gummies, according to Fortune. Uber boasts 600,000 registered drivers and 22 million registered users in the country.

Last year, the ridesharing giant and Cargo teamed up to offer drivers in San Francisco and Los Angeles the ability to sell items to a consumer during their ride. Boston, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. were later added.

“We’re probably not going to change anyone’s life with this service,” Cargo CEO Jeff Cripe said in an interview with Karen Webster at the time, “but we are going to offer them an efficiency that will greatly improve their day, especially during their commute. After all, even people taking the ride of shame home the next day need to hydrate.”

And in October, Cargo raised $22 million in a Series A round led by Founders Fund, as well as additional investment from Aquiline Technology Growth, Coatue Management and several high-profile entertainment, gaming and technology executives including Zynga founder Mark Pincus, Twitch’s former CSO Colin Carrier, media investor Vivi Nevo, former NBA commissioner David Stern, Def Jam Records CEO Paul Rosenberg, Steve Aoki, Maria Shriver and Patrick and Christina Schwarzenegger. Cargo has currently raised $30 million in venture funding.