Cherry, the Uber for car washes, scores $4.5 million from Shasta Ventures

Before we break into Cherry, and why we’re covering a car wash service on TNW, here are the funding essentials: the company has landed a series A round totaling $4.5 million led by Shasta Ventures, in which the Founders Fund participated. Also, previous angel investors Bill Lee and Shervin Pishevar took part. The company’s previous seed round was $750,000, raised from various individuals.

Now, a car wash? Well, not exactly. As you know, washing your car is a pain in the backside, even if you pay someone to do it for you. Waiting around for someone to scrub is time-consuming and expensive (opportunity cost). Cherry has a way to change that, make sure that you car looks good, and ensure that you aren’t bored.

And yes, it involves smartphones.

Here’s how it works: you park your car, check in to the service online, and Cherry will come and wash your car where it is. You don’t have to move it. You pay a flat fee ($29.99) for the service. We compared it to Uber in the title as the service comes to you, on your schedule, and also handles payments, including a built-in tip. It’s fast, simple, and where it exists, I suspect, potentially quite popular.

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Cherry will even text you to let you know when they are on the way, and when they are done. For more on how it works, head to its site.

In other news, the company is expanding to a grip of new cities in the Bay Area, including: Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Cupertino, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Los Altos, and San Jose. Previously the service was only available in San Francisco. Also, the company’s iPhone app is complete; its Android app is about a month away.

TNW likes to see the digital interact with the physical, and this is a prime example. It’s also nice to see some of the innovations that Uber has pioneered sprout up in other companies.