Geoffroy Lambert, co-founder of Driiveme: at the crossroads of tech, AI & family business

At the age of 36, married and the father of three, Geoffroy Lambert (EDHEC Masters 2011) is the cofounder and CEO of Driiveme, which he set up with his older brother. With a staff of more than 100, divided between Paris, Madrid and London, Driiveme was among the companies selected by French Tech 120 and is currently the market leader in Europe. 

What was the initial ambition when you launched Driiveme?

Initially our ambition was simple: to set up a company that worked! We come from a big family of entrepreneurs, so it was quite natural for us to go into entrepreneurship. I founded Driiveme with my older brother Alexandre, and it quickly became a family affair: my younger brother Constantin and our cousin Trevor came on board to help the company internationalise. Alexandre now looks after all things technical – product, AI and technology – while I supervise business, operations, finance and HR. Constantin, who is based in Madrid, coordinates all of our country managers, and Trevor is Head of Sales.

The idea behind Driiveme came from a simple observation: each day, thousands of cars are transported by truck to be moved from one city to another. These cars travel “empty”, even though they could very well be put to good use. So we thought to ourselves: why not offer them to private customers at very low prices? In concrete terms, you could for example go from Lille to Paris in a car for just €1. You book your journey on Driiveme, you only pay for petrol and motorway tolls, and you have between 24 and 48 hours to return the car after you arrive. If you want, you can even take carpooling passengers to reduce your costs. It's win-win: the rental company gets their car moved, and the customer benefits from an affordable means of transport.

Europcar was the first rental company to place their trust in us; we worked on a prototype with them and got off the ground. This offer for private customers still exists, although it only represents around 5-10% of our business.

How has the business model evolved?

We very quickly made the offer more professional. Our customers wanted greater reliability, flexibility and volume. So we established a pool of independent professional drivers. We have truly digitalized automobile transport: now our drivers pick up the cars to deliver them between agencies, companies, logistics fleets and to customers, etc.

This offer has been really successful because the players in the sector (short- and medium-term rental companies, manufacturers, retailers, insurers, etc.) increasingly need agility, traceability and the ability to deliver a car that has been rented or purchased as well as to access big cities, which is quite limited and restrictive for large trucks from an environmental perspective. We move around 300,000 cars per year, 95% of which are driven by professionals. We are the leading firm in the European market for single-vehicle transport. 

Tech and AI play key roles at Driiveme. Can you tell me more?

They’re vital for us. AI and tech have allowed us to expand quickly in the right conditions, without doubling our staff numbers. They're a massive lever driving efficiency, and a true benchmark of quality for our customers and drivers. And so we automate everything we can. 65% of our transport is now done without any human intervention. The platform manages the entire production chain: a journey can be uploaded, booked and operated automatically, even when staff are asleep. And that changes everything in terms of scalability.

We've developed our own tools, 100% of our tech is homemade. We offer our clients APIs and interfaces as well as a comprehensive application for our drivers: job bookings, digital vehicle inspections, document scans, invoicing, etc. Everything is carefully thought through to simplify their daily lives.

We've gone even further with AI over the last two years. For example, we created a virtual agent on WhatsApp known as “Aline”, who automatically replies to 50% of driver requests across Europe: timetable changes, job information, monitoring, etc. It's a very tangible contribution.

You were awarded the French Tech 120 label two years ago. What has this changed for you?

It's above all a strong marker of recognition. It rewards the work of our staff and gives the brand credibility in the eyes of our customers, partners and investors. Previously, our criteria were based largely on fundraising. Now, profitability and the robustness of our business model are more important. And that suits us just fine, as we have always favoured profitable growth over the race to raise funds.

At Driiveme we never strictly speaking raised money. We secured the contribution of an investment fund for the first time 2 years ago: ISAI, a French tech fund. That came about as part of an LBO, with a very small minority buy-in. The fund didn't inject money in the firm, it bought out shareholdings, partly held by me and my brother, it was more of an asset management operation. It was an opportunity to get a fund on board that could support our growth and major decisions: development, recruitment, etc.

What about your environmental impact?

It's a major issue. In 2024, together with Carbone 4, Driiveme conducted the largest European study on the environmental impact of driveaway operations. We measure our carbon footprint internally and we support customers in measuring theirs. Driveaway operations often have a more positive impact than transport by truck, especially since trucks often drive empty or carrying a partial load. 

We optimise journeys, increasingly moving electric vehicles, and we offer rental firms improved oversight of their fleet. Ultimately, they can serve the same number of customers with fewer cars.

As an entrepreneur, what have been your greatest challenges?

There have been many, but I would say that the real challenge is determination. Entrepreneurship is an emotional roller coaster. Some days you feel on top of the world, at other times you have doubts. You must be resilient and be able to take quick decisions, even when they're not easy. And I think you need to keep in close contact with on-the-ground operations and customers, even when the company is developing strongly and quickly. That way, you can avoid discovering problems later on!