WETAXI SRL

Their core work

WETAXI SRL is a Turin-based Italian transport technology startup that built OUITAXI (later branded WETAXI), an on-demand and shared taxi booking platform. Their core product addresses urban mobility by connecting passengers who share similar routes, reducing empty taxi runs and lowering costs for both riders and drivers. They entered the H2020 ecosystem via a Phase 1 SME Instrument feasibility study — the standard entry point for early-stage mobility startups seeking to validate their business model for European scale-up. Their participation in TRA VISIONS 2018, a Europe-wide transport research competition for students and early-career researchers, suggests some engagement with the broader transport innovation community beyond their core product work.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Both projects fall within a tight 2016–2017 window, so there is no meaningful long-term evolution to observe. The early period shows a dual track: direct product development through an SME Instrument grant (OUITAXI) alongside participation in a student and researcher competition (TRA VISIONS). There are no projects from 2018 onward in the H2020 record, which means either the company exited the EU funding ecosystem after these two engagements, pivoted to private investment, or rebranded — a common trajectory for app-based mobility startups of that era.

With only two projects both ending by 2018 and no follow-on funding visible, this company either scaled through private channels after its feasibility study or ceased active EU project engagement — any collaboration interest should first verify the company is still operating and active.

How they like to work

WETAXI took the coordinator role on their own product project (OUITAXI), which is standard for SME Instrument grants where the SME drives their own innovation. Their third-party role in TRA VISIONS suggests they contributed a specific function or supported the action without being a full consortium member. With only 2 projects and 8 partners across 6 countries, their network is wider than the project count suggests, but the depth of those relationships is hard to assess from the available data.

WETAXI has connected with 8 consortium partners across 6 countries despite only 2 projects, likely reflecting the multi-partner structure of the TRA VISIONS CSA action. Their geographic footprint spans multiple European countries, though Italy and the broader transport research network appear to be the natural home base.

What sets them apart

WETAXI is one of the few Italian urban mobility startups that used the SME Instrument to validate a shared-taxi model at a time (2017) when ride-sharing was still a contested market in Europe. Their position at the intersection of a real commercial product and EU transport research funding makes them a potentially practical partner for transport innovation projects that need a market-side SME — if the company is still active. The caution here is that app-based taxi platforms from 2017 have had a high attrition rate.

Highlights from their portfolio

• OUITAXI
  Coordinator role on an SME Instrument Phase 1 grant — the EU's most competitive startup funding at the time — validating a shared taxi platform for European markets.
• TRA VISIONS 2018
  Participation in this Europe-wide transport research competition for students and researchers signals awareness of the academic transport pipeline, unusual for a pure product company.