Mozilla Ventures Announces Investment in Rodeo, an App Empowering Gig Workers
(UNITED KINGDOM | MAY TK, 2023) – Today, Mozilla Ventures is announcing a new
investment and its first in the United Kingdom: Rodeo, an app that makes the gig work
ecosystem more transparent for gig workers.
Rodeo helps workers access and control their data, providing critical insights like earnings
over time and pay rates across different gig platforms. The app also allows its users to chat
with fellow gig workers and swap valuable learnings and tips. Rodeo is used by more than
10,000 delivery drivers from Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat.
Gig work is a rapidly-growing sector, with an estimated 4.4 million gig workers in the UK
and likely more than 1 billion across the world. While gig work platforms have played a
crucial role in unlocking economic opportunity, they have also come under fire for
exploitative behavior.
Mozilla Ventures is a first-of-its-kind impact venture fund to invest in startups that push the
internet — and the tech industry — in a better direction. Mozilla Ventures isn’t publicizing
its investment amount at this time. Rodeo has previously received investment from
LocalGlobe and Seedcamp.
The funding will help expand Rodeo’s tech team and also defend users’ legal rights to
access and portability of their data — two vital mechanisms for earning a living in the gig
economy.
Says Alfie Pearce-Higgins, Co-Founder of Rodeo: “Mozilla has always fought for
interoperability and user agency. That’s why we are excited to work with Mozilla Ventures
as we continue to empower gig workers and ensure their rights of data access and
portability as enshrined in GDPR.”
Says Mohamed Nanabhay, Managing Partner of Mozilla Ventures: “Mozilla Ventures’
mission is to fuel companies pushing the tech industry in a better direction — companiesthat respect users, and that empower them with their data. Rodeo exemplifies these
principles.”
Says Champika Fernando, who leads Mozilla’s Data Futures Lab: “The scales of the gig
economy are currently tipped very much in favor of the platforms, not the workers. By
changing how we handle data governance, we can balance the scales and make the gig
economy more equitable.”
Rodeo will join a cohort of other mission driven startups that Mozilla Ventures has invested
in, including SAIL, heylogin, Lelapa AI, Themis AI, and Block Party. Mozilla Ventures
launched in 2022 with an initial $35 million in funding.
