Go’s IPO — Japan’s biggest so far this year — has done more than provide a much-needed boost to the country’s languishing listing season. It has also supplied the taxi-hailing app with the capital required to address an existential issue: Japan’s shortage of drivers.
Go, which went public Tuesday, plans to use the ¥88.6 billion ($553 million) raised in its IPO to expand its robotaxi business and make acquisitions, according to a company spokesperson.
“We intend to use the proceeds from the sale of newly issued shares toward investment in research and development related to robotaxis and investment in business expansions, including strategic mergers and acquisitions in our business inside and outside of the taxi industry,” the spokesperson said.
The Japanese taxi-hailing company’s debut came in one of Japan’s quietest listing seasons, at a time when the government has been telling startups to sell themselves rather than go public. Go drew investments from BlackRock, Wellington Management, and M&G Investment Management in the process, underscoring where global institutional money is willing to go in Japan right now. The stock has since pulled back below its offering price, closing at ¥2,314 on Friday, down about 4% from the IPO price of ¥2,400.
Go’s robotaxi ambitions are rooted in a human problem. Japan’s taxi industry is running out of drivers. The number of taxi drivers has fallen roughly 20% in recent years, according to a report citing Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
An aging population means that figure is unlikely to recover. Ride-share services launched in Japan in 2024, but remain limited to certain areas and require drivers to be employed by a taxi company; restrictions that have done little to address the shortage.
Go was founded in 1977 as a taxi operator and now runs Japan’s largest ride-hailing app with 35 million downloads, 85,000 partner vehicles, and an 80% share of Japan’s taxi app market by usage time, covering 46 of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
Go believes robotaxis will be part of its future — although it’s not clear when that vision will become a reality.
Go has partnered with Waymo, an autonomous driving subsidiary of Alphabet, alongside Nihon Kotsu, one o …