San Francisco-based car-rental startup Kyte, which was seen a potential rival to the big, old-school rental-car companies in the US, has shut down following a year of contraction and financial strain.

After drastically laying off staff and focusing on only two core markets last fall, Kyte has now permanently ceased operations. As TechCrunch reports, Kyte sold off its customer list to competitor Turo last month, and entered a "form of receivership in California." Reportedly, as it defaulted on loans earlier this year, its top lender began repossessing and liquidating its remaining fleet of cars.

Kyte launched in 2019, boldly positioning itself as a more convenient alternative to both traditional car rental companies — which are associated with minimal locations and standing in line at a counter — and peer-to-peer services like Turo. It was similar to Zipcar, only it offered the added convenience of delivering the car to your front door, though users also could be asked to meet up with drivers at specific locations near-ish their home. Drop-offs could be equally easy, with users just telling a pickup person on the app where the car was parked.

A too-rapid expansion and pandemic shifts in travel patterns likely did Kyte in. Though they no doubt benefited from that period in 2022 when the traditional car-rental companies were caught flat-footed with too little supply as travel demand skyrocketed, leading to high prices and limited car availability.

Kyte raked in over $300 million in financing, and at one point was operating in 14 cities in the US, a with fleet of more than 2,000 vehicles.

When business proved sluggish in markets like Boston, Atlanta, and Chicago, CEO Nikolaus Volk told TechCrunch last year that they considered looking to sell the company, but opted instead to refocus on the core markets of New York and San Francisco.

Kyte is just the latest high-profile startup that enjoyed access to cheap capital prior to 2020, but whose business could not grow fast enough to reach profitability in a capital-constrained market.

Reportedly, many Kyte customers who had trips pre-booked on the app this summer are still awaiting refunds.

Zipcar, which was part of the early wave of car-rental alternatives, launched in Boston in 2000, offering users hourly rates for in-city trips, and key-card entry via an app. They would later merge with competitor FlexCar, and in 2013, the company was acquired by Avis Budget Group.