Frédéric Mazzella was born in Nantes in 1976 and studied physics at the École normale supérieure and computer science at Stanford. In 2003 he noticed on a trip home that nearly every car heading his way had an empty seat. In 2006 he bought Covoiturage.fr and began building the company, then named Comuto, with Nicolas Brusson and Francis Nappez.
He paid himself no salary until 2009. He had borrowed €70,000 to attend INSEAD and finished repaying that loan in 2013. In 2009 the founders raised €600,000, and ISAI invested €1.25 million in June 2010.
In 2011 the service launched in the UK. Between 2011 and 2012 it moved from free carpooling to online booking with a fee, which turned a community tool into a business. Accel, ISAI and Cabiedes & Partners put in €7.5 million in January 2012. The company took the name BlaBlaCar in 2013 and launched in Germany.
Index Ventures invested $100 million in July 2014, and Insight Venture Partners invested $200 million in September 2015 at a $1.6 billion valuation. In 2017 BlaBlaCar closed its offices in India, Turkey and Mexico after overspending and over-hiring. It bought Ouibus in 2018 and raised $115 million in April 2021.