Ride-sharing startup BlaBlaCar has raised $160m (£104m) in a Series D round of funding, taking the companys valuation up to $1.2bn and marking it as a unicorn (a startup valued above $1bn).

The app-based service created by the company differentiates itself from similar taxi-hailing platforms by focusing on city-to-city journeys, employing a true ride-sharing model rather than using minicab drivers like Uber, Hailo and other startups.

Riders book trips between cities in advance with drivers who are already traveling the route, paying a small fee for the journey, which BlaBlaCar takes 10 per cent from.

The platform has proved popular in Europe, and the company acquired competitors Carpooling.com and AutoHop in April, bringing the total number of members to around 20m.

The latest round of funding comes primarily from Insight Venture Partners, with the participation of a number of angel investors, according to TechCrunch. The deal has reportedly already been closed, but has yet to be confirmed by anyone involved.

Because of the legally ambiguous nature of paid car-sharing services, the company has focused on establishing regional offices in each of the 17 countries it operates in and modifying its model to comply with local regulations.

However, because it operates on a revenue sharing model, rather than a profit seeking one, it has faced less legal hurdles than firms like Uber, and has managed to establish itself in markets including India and Mexico.