REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 19, 2023 – Zūm today announced Ritu Narayan, Founder and CEO of Zum, has been recognized by Goldman Sachs as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2023. Narayan will be honored at the Goldman Sachs Builders and Innovators Summit Oct. 18-20, 2023, in Healdsburg, California.

Zum Founder and CEO Ritu Narayan at the Zum bus yard in San Francisco that services San Francisco Unified School District. When Narayan was school-aged, her mom left the workforce to ensure her kids could get to and from school safely and reliably. Not wanting to repeat the cycle with her kids, and wanting to ensure millions of working families didn’t have to choose between work and getting their kids to and from school safely, she founded Zum in 2015 to fix student transportation. An accomplished entrepreneur with 20 years of experience as a tech industry leader, Narayan has been recognized for her pioneering efforts across technology, transportation, education, sustainability and social justice and serves as a mentor to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“For more than a decade, the Builders and Innovators Summit has brought together a diverse and talented group of entrepreneurs who are making a mark on various industries through innovation,” Narayan said. “I am honored to be recognized for transforming the nation’s largest mass transit system, making school bus transportation to and from school safe, reliable, tech-enabled, and sustainable for families, drivers and school districts across the U.S.”

“We’re delighted to recognize Ritu Narayan as one of the most exceptional entrepreneurs of 2023,” said David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. “Like everyone in this year’s class, Ritu has been a visionary in her field, pushing forward innovation and redefining markets. We are excited to harness Goldman’s convening power to bring together these dynamic leaders and hear their insights.”

Zum has revolutionized the school transportation system – the nation’s largest mass transit system – enabling students to get to and from school safely, reliably, and sustainably. Its technology provides real-time transparency to parents, drivers, and administrators; optimized routes reduce commute times; and a transition from diesel to EV bus fleets improves the health of children, drivers and communities, while delivering energy back to the grid.

Zum currently serves thousands of schools and school districts in the U.S., including Los Angeles Unified School District, the nation’s second-largest school district; San Francisco; Oakland; Seattle; Spokane; San Bernardino; Howard County; and Nashville.

To learn more about how Zum is working with thousands of schools across the nation to modernize student transportation, please visit Zum’s website.

About Ritu Narayan

Zum Founder and CEO Ritu Narayan has raised $200M+ from Sequoia and Softbank to modernize student transportation. An accomplished entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience as a tech industry leader, Narayan has been named one of Inc.’s Top 100 Female Entrepreneurs, recognized as one of Entrepreneur’s 100 Women of Influence, and received the 2023 Power of Women Award from Global Silicon Valley and Arizona State University. Prior to Zum, Narayan led teams at Oracle, Yahoo, and eBay. A Sloan Fellow and graduate of the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, Narayan earned her undergraduate degree in computer science at the Delhi Institute of Technology. She lives in San Carlos, California, with her husband and two children.

About Zum

Zum has reimagined student transportation, the nation’s largest mass transit system. Our robust operations and integrated end-to-end cloud-based platform provides a modern student transportation service for school districts purpose-built around the needs of kids and the needs of their families. Zum provides a seamless, real-time interface for parents, drivers, schools, districts, administrators and operators to transport children safely and with increased visibility and personalized care. Always investing in the wellbeing of the communities, Zum is also the only carbon neutral student transportation provider in the nation with plans to go Net Zero with its EV transition. Learn more at www.ridezum.com.

About Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.