Research task (Business Planning & Research):
Write a brief research report comparing the performance of the car rental companies Turo and Getaround, detailing all major economic events for each company from 2020 to 2025 and how it affected the company's valuation. If the company falls in valuation, be sure to explain how it happened and its effects on employee numbers. Write the report for an audience not familiar with US economics and venture capital.

Evaluation rubric:
criterion: The response expands all acronyms on its first appearance (e.g., P2P as peer to peer / peer-to-peer, SPAC as Special Purpose Acquisition Company, IPO as Initial Public Offering, NYSE as New York Stock Exchange, EBIT as earnings before interest and taxes)
weight: 4
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: The response links the expectations on the reverse merger for Getaround (e.g., funding stability, improving unit economics) to the exit from US market (e.g., pressure from public markets on profitability, lower US unit economics)
weight: 4
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response acknowledges that Turo's layoffs in April 2025 were caused, at least in part, by its withdrawal from IPO efforts in February 2025.
weight: 4
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response details all changes in valuation for Getaround major events (e.g., undisclosed valuation with a $140M Series E in 2020, $1.2 Bn valuation on its reverse merger / SPAC in 2022, dropping more than 65% after listing, and delisting at less than $1M market cap in 2024)
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response details the lack of significant public valuation numbers for Turo during the last 5 years (e.g., Series E valuation of $1.24 Bn in 2020, Forge Global reporting a Series E-2 valuation of $1.7 Bn in 2024, IPO expectations around $2.2Bn)
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response provides at least one reference directly from an SEC filing (e.g., 13D, 10K, 10Q, 8K)
weight: 4
axis: References & Citation Quality

criterion: The response mentions events prior to 2020 for Getaround, other than fundraisings that help set the stage for an intiial 2020 valuation.
weight: -3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions events prior to 2020 for Turo, other than fundraisings that help set the stage for an intiial 2020 valuation.
weight: -3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response provides at least one figure (e.g, table, graph, pie chart, bulleted list) for each company summarizing its performance.
weight: 2
axis: Communication Quality

criterion: The response includes at least 2 major events for Turo (e.g., layoffs in 2025, withdrawing from IPO in 2025, cybertuck explosion in Las Vegas in 2025, expanding operations to New York and Australia in 2022, achiving profitability in 2022)
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response includes at least 2 major events for Getaround (e.g., 75% drop in bookings due to the pandemic in 2020, SPAC merger in 2022, ceasement of US operations in 2025, 30% layoffs in 2024)
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions that both companies were unicorns / had a valuation of over $1Bn by 2020, the start of the 5 year period for the report
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response has a specific section (e.g., a sentence, paragraph, subtitle with content) comparing both companies
weight: 3
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response has a section explaining what P2P -peer to peer- rental is.
weight: 4
axis: Synthesis of Information

criterion: The response explains  at least 3 components of Turo business model (e.g., it is a marketplace so it doesn't own cars, charges a commission on each transaction, provides insurante and protection fees, might charge delivery fees for convenience, has additional income from other fees like late return or excess mileage)
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response explains at least 3 components of Getaround business model (e.g., it is a marketplace so it doesn't own cars, charges a commission on each transaction, provides insurante and protection fees, charges a subscription fee for car owners, has additional income from other fees like late return or GPS)
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions at least 2 key metrics for Turo (e.g., number of active listings, utilization rate, booking rate, take rate)
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response mentions at least 2 key metrics for Getaround (e.g., number of active listings, utilization rate, average booking value, take rate)
weight: 4
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response explains at least 3 main risks faced by the two companies (e.g., competition from other car rentals, market adoption, liquidity and funding risks, insurance and liability, regulatory, operational risk like crashes and stolen vehicles, supply availability and seasonality from car owners)
weight: 3
axis: Implicit Criteria

criterion: The response concludes that Turo has had a much more succesful path than Getaround
weight: 5
axis: Explicit Criteria