JetSmarter, backed by rapper Jay Z and Saudi royal family, has raised at least $157 million over several rounds

Passengers boarding a 15-seat JetSmarter aircraft in March. JetSmarter buys empty seats from private-jet operators and then makes them available through its app.

A Florida startup backed by rap mogul Jay Z and the Saudi royal family said it has landed $105 million in fresh funds by promising to make it easy to book private jets through an app.

JetSmarter Inc. said Monday that it raised the money from an assortment of investors including venture capitalists, fund managers, celebrities and technologists. The four-year-old company has raised at least $157 million over several funding rounds.

JetSmarter, based in Fort Lauderdale, buys empty seats from private-jet operators and then makes them available through its app, either on scheduled shuttle flights on major routes or empty-leg trips, in which planes are flown empty from one airport to another for their next passenger flight.

The latest round includes funding from previous investor Jay Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter, as well as investment firm KZ Capital, private jet operator Jet Edge International and others like an Abu Dhabi-based growth equity fund and a Qatar-based private-equity fund, according to the company. JetSmarter said it raised the funds at a $1.6 billion valuation.

“JetSmarter is bringing private aviation to everyone,” said Wayne Chang, a product strategy executive at Twitter Inc. and a prior investor in the company. “In the world of long security lines, invasive pat-downs and lost luggage, JetSmarter is a breath of fresh air to air transportation.”

Scheduled shuttles can be booked weeks in advance, but empty-leg seats aren’t usually confirmed until 24 hours before takeoff. JetSmarter also offers to help travelers book private jet flights that aren’t on its schedule of shuttles for fees that can be around $2,000 per seat.

The company offers about 50 routes in countries around the world, compared with three routes a couple years ago, and will use the funds to expand further into India, China and South America, said Chief Executive Sergey Petrossov.

JetSmarter has 6,700 members who pay as much as $11,000 a year in annual membership fees, which guarantee flyers a seat on any scheduled shuttle of their choosing with no additional cost.

Members also pay a one-time initiation fee—currently $4,000, according to the site—to lock in their annual rate for the life of the membership.

The annual fee has risen quickly over the years.

Naples, Fla., businessman Steven Virgil, who owns a holding company with investments in real estate, said he locked in a $7,000 annual fee two years ago when he signed up. He said he uses the service to fly within Florida, as well as to Las Vegas and Philadelphia for meetings, and calls it a big savings over flying commercially. “I like the simplicity and the comfort,” he said.

Mr. Petrossov said the 250-employee company plans to add a lower-cost option for short travel between, say, Los Angeles and San Francisco or New York and Washington, for as little as $1 per mile, primarily on propeller planes. It also aims to offer more concierge services like hotel, restaurant and event bookings.

Mr. Petrossov declined to discuss revenue or to say whether JetSmarter was profitable overall.

JetSmarter faces competition from jet-booking startups like Rise Air, JetSuite and Surf Air, among others. Other private jet startups have failed to take off, including BlackJet, which shut down earlier this year and counted Jay Z’s Roc Nation, Ashton Kutcher and  Salesforce.com Inc. Chief Executive Marc Benioff among investors.