Online peer-to-peer used-car marketplace TRED has landed $25 million in Series B funding that it plans to use for expanding its products, locations, partnerships and engineer team.
Participating in the round were new and existing inventors. That group included Vivek Raj of Geneses Capital Management, Westlake Financial’s Ian Anderson and CMFG Ventures’ Mike Kraus.
“This funding will allow TRED to invest in its products, expand its locations and services throughout the country, and further develop its partnerships,” TRED chief executive officer Grant Feek said in a news release. “TRED is revolutionizing the online used car marketplace, and we look forward to continued growth and success through this significant backing.”
TRED is headquartered in Seattle and launched there in 2012. Its current markets include: Los Angeles; Portland, Ore; San Francisco; Dallas; Houston; Austin, Texas; San Antonio; Miami; Tampa Bay; Orlando; Jacksonville, Fla.; and Chicago.
“Westlake Financial has been a terrific lending partner for TRED car buyers over the past couple of years, and we’re extremely excited to further develop this relationship,” said Feek. “We’re also extremely excited to have the support of CMFG Ventures, the venture capital arm of CUNA Mutual Group, which helps connects credit unions to the fintech industry.
“Credit union members have always made up a disproportionately large percentage of TRED buyers and sellers, and we look forward to further developing the product to support these members.”
Investment money is working its way into the automotive space, and not just through acquisitions of auctions and dealerships or software building.
On Tuesday, Generational Equity, a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, announced the facilitation of a “significant equity investment” by KT Capital Partners into Dealer Solutions & Design, which plans fixed operations facilities.
According to a news release, the transaction closed on Sept. 30.
Established in 2005, Dealer Solutions & Design (DSD) was one of the first companies to create what investors called the “concept to completion” approach to designing and outfitting fixed operations facilities with shop equipment for new and renovated dealerships.
DSD has now been involved in more than 700 facility projects. DSD is headquartered in Duluth, Ga., and was wholly owned by chief executive officer Alan Terry, president Micheal Bolden and executive vice president Clayton Terry.
KT Capital Partners is a leading private investment firm that invests in “stable, established and growing” companies. The firm works closely with its partner companies and provide capital, operating and strategic expertise, as well as a network of strategic industry contacts.
The partners at KT Capital have extensive backgrounds in oversight of portfolio companies. Collectively, the partners at KT Capital have participated in all capacities from purchase to management to sale of more than 130 companies during their careers.
Jim Tapp and Peter Kacer are the managing directors that led this transaction for KT Capital.
“KT Capital is the perfect fit for DSD. We have significant growth plans so Jim and Peter’s experience in executing an add-on acquisition strategy across the country is critical to that success,” Alan Terry said in the news release.
Kacer added, “We are excited to partner with the DSD executive team on their growth strategy for the coming years. Their unique value-added product and services offering is highly valued by their dealership customers, and their ability to work throughout the U.S. provides significant growth opportunities going forward.”
Generational Equity managing director Don Ho was the lead dealmaker who successfully closed the transaction.
“We are very excited to be a part of the transaction between Dealer Solutions & Design and KT Capital. We are very honored to have helped Alan Terry, Micheal Bolden, and Clayton Terry achieve their goal of partnering with the right team that will help them to continue to grow the business and enhance the company’s offering and services to its customers,” Ho said.
“This transaction will allow Dealer Solutions and Design to be an even more dominant player in the automotive industry, while providing more resources and opportunities for its employees,” Ho continued. “The synergies from this transaction will expand DSD’s penetration into new geographic and customer markets, as well as provide the ability to cross pollinate with KT Capital’s portfolio companies to improve operational efficiencies and the entire customer experience. We are excited about the potential and future of Dealer Solutions & Design.”
The investment in automotive will be the central theme of the inaugural National Auto Venture & Investors Conference (NAVIcon), which takes place Nov. 18 at Red Rock in Las Vegas as part of the Used Car Week conference series. More information is avaiable here.
Spiffy has landed a $22 million Series B financing round.
The on-demand car care, tech and services company plans on using the investment for the rollout of new Spiffy markets, growing franchise territories and launching new service offerings.
Tribeca Venture Partners led the round, which also included participation from existing investors Bull City Venture Partners, Shell Ventures, Idea Fund Partners, Trog Hawley Capital, and Attinger; as well as new investors Goodyear Ventures, Private Access Network, Gaingels and Flucas Ventures.
“We started Spiffy on a path towards becoming a complete car care solution for individual customers and fleet clients. Today serves as both a humbling reminder of the progress we’ve made in the last seven years and a thrilling look ahead at what we’re going to achieve next,” Spiffy chief executive officer Scot Wingo said in a news release.
“We’re grateful for the support from Tribeca Ventures, Bull City Venture Partners, Shell Ventures, Idea Fund Partners, Trog Hawley Capital, Attinger, Goodyear Ventures, Private Access Network, Gaingels, and Flucas Ventures as we set our sights on continued market expansion and adding more convenient services for our customers,” Wingo said.
One of the new offerings Spiffy has planned is to launch tire rotation and replacement services nationally. These have been piloted in Spiffy’s home market of Raleigh, N.C.
Spiffy recently acquired Tennessee-based Pit Crew and intends on expanding its presence in the repair service space for parts such as brakes and batteries.
Chip Meakem is the co-founder and managing partner of Tribeca Venture Partners, the lead investor in the round.
“Spiffy has built its service model to provide much-needed convenience for customers frustrated by long wait times and tiresome scheduling for routine maintenance,” Meakem said in a news release. “With its on-demand service offering and exceptional leadership team, the future of Spiffy is set up for exciting success.”
Especially when manufacturing capacity increases to make more new models available, Merchants Fleet now has more financial resources to take advantage of the opportunity.
On Wednesday, the fleet management company announced a major expansion of its core member funding group to include some of the top banks in the world, enabling the Merchants Fleet to access $2 billion of capacity to lease vehicles and equipment for clients as well as invest in continued growth.
Merchants Fleet highlighted that the new group of banks and investors is led by French international banking group BNP Paribas, which along with Merchants’ lead equity partner Bain Capital Credit, represents more than $20 trillion in assets.
“As we continue to expand into new markets, it is important that we align with the right financial partners who share our strategic vision,” Merchants Fleet chief executive officer Brendan Keegan said in a news release. “After receiving bids from some of the largest and most respected banks in the world, we selected BNP Paribas as our lead financial partner and collateral agent and are very excited to welcome other new partners into the group.
“We are proud to have these powerful institutions in our corner as we continue our trajectory as the fastest-growing fleet management company in North America,” Keegan said.
Merchants Fleet said it is positioned to seize major growth opportunities in all key areas of its portfolio including fleet, mobility, electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure.
The company mentioned that it already manages more than 150,000 vehicles throughout North America on behalf of some of the largest brands in the world.
Merchants Fleet added that it is set to register its strongest year ever in 2021, more than doubling its 2020 results, and is poised for continued growth in the coming year as it partners with an extensive ecosystem of EV experts to support fleets across the nation as they move forward with plans for electrification.
The company reiterated that the expanded funding capacity will enable Merchants Fleet to continue to fulfill funding requests while investing in the latest fleet technology.
“BNP Paribas continues to be a strategic partner to Merchants Fleet on this next phase of its growth ambitions,” said Andrew Strait, head of U.S. diversified industries coverage for BNP Paribas. “We look forward to supporting the company on its expansion as fleet electrification and charging infrastructure will be a key part of our transition to a more sustainable economy.”
Having already forged relationships with companies such as Lincoln in connection with manufacturing and Chase to facilitate consumer financing, Rivian is making moves to become a publicly traded company.
The electric truck maker announced on Friday that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed public offering of its common stock.
According to a news release, the size and price range for the proposed offering have yet to be determined.
Rivian said the initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.
“This press release is being made pursuant to, and in accordance with, Rule 135 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities,” Rivian said in the news release.
“Any offers, solicitations or offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act,” the company added.
Privacy4Cars announced a Series A investment round Tuesday led by FM Capital, with additional investment by Automotive Ventures.
The round is the first fundraising from institutional investors for Privacy4Cars, a tech company that aims to identify and resolve data privacy issues in the auto industry.
Both FM Capital and Automotive Ventures specialize in the automotive/transportation tech segment.
Privacy4Cars plans on using the funding for growing its service and platform, supporting its research and IP, recruiting talent and both international and domestic growth.
The amount of funding in the round was not disclosed.
“We recognized very early on that personal information would be a rising compliance and reputation risk for automotive businesses across the globe, and worked tirelessly to create a simple, scalable solution for businesses looking to meet current regulatory requirements and protect their customers,” Privacy4Cars founder and chief executive officer Andrea Amico said in a news release.
“Closing this funding round with FM Capital and Automotive Ventures is a pivotal moment for the business as it will allow us to keep up with demand, scale solutions for our newest partners across the globe, and generate more groundbreaking tools to further protect all consumers that operate a vehicle,” Amico said.
Added Chase Fraser, who is FM Capital’s managing partner: “PII will continue to be a hot-button topic in the automotive industry, especially as lawsuits become more prevalent. Privacy4Cars has created a solution that will soon be mandatory for retail automotive, auctions and the vehicle rental space.”
One of the reasons Cherokee Media Group added the National Auto Venture & Investors Conference (NAVIcon) was because of how much investment activity is happening in automotive nowadays.
Another development surfaced on Monday, as Turo announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock.
According to a news release, the peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace said the number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.
Turo added that the initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.
The move arrived about four months after Charles Fisher joined Turo as its chief financial officer.
“This press release is being made pursuant to, and in accordance with, Rule 135 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and shall not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities,” Turo said on Monday.
“Any offers, solicitations or offers to buy, or any sales of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act,” the company went on to say.
UVeye, an automated vehicle-inspection systems developer, announced a $60 million Series C funding Wednesday that includes investment from CarMax, W.R. Berkley Corporation and F.I.T Ventures, along with a group of Israeli institutional investors.
Prior investors include the likes of Volvo Cars, Hyundai Motors and Toyota Tshusho.
W.R. Berkley, also a prior investor, is a North American commercial insurance firm. F.IT. Ventures is a Montreal-based investment firm.
The Israeli institutional investor group was led by Epsilon Underwriting & Issuing and also included Meitav Dash Investments, Menora Mivtachim Holdings and Y.D. More Investments.
The latest round puts its total investment above $90 million.
“The completion of Series C funding represents a significant step forward for UVeye and our plans to expand in Europe and the United States,” UVeye chief executive officer and co-founder Amir Hever said in a news release. “We have a strong team of investors and corporate partners to help us set new quality standards for vehicle inspection across a broad range of industries.”
UVeye’s facilities are located in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. It has offices in Israel, Japan, Germany and the U.S.
UVeye has set up partnerships with dealer groups, auto auctions and vehicle fleets.
W.R. Berkley president and CEO W. Robert Berkley, Jr. said in the release: “We initially invested in UVeye when we saw their revolutionary technology in action and met the team that brought it to life.
“UVeye’s unmatched solution for standardizing automotive inspections has resulted in well-deserved global recognition, and as one of the largest commercial auto insurers in the U.S. we see enormous untapped potential for UVeye in our business as well. We congratulate the UVeye team for reaching this important milestone.”
Driven Data, which is an advanced software marketing provider and digital marketing agency for the retail auto industry, announced the closure of a $4.5 million Series B fundraising round led by Dealer.com co-founder and private investor Rick Gibbs along with JHCapital, LLC.
Gibbs is the chairman of Driven Data.
“To say Driven Data’s platform is ‘impressive’ would be a huge understatement — it is visionary in the truest sense,” Gibbs said in a news release. “As Google, Apple and Facebook re-write the rules around how advertisers handle privacy, targeting and measurement, companies are getting shut out of access to third-party data, leaving them spinning in circles sorting out how to integrate and leverage first-party data from multiple sources. Luckily, Jon has done the work already so dealers can pivot and dramatically improve their marketing performance.”
The company has been developing a “hyper-personalized” open integration marketing platform designed to integrate first-party data from multiple sources for the past three years, with an eye on helping dealers avoid using cookies for consumer targeting and tracking.
“Automotive dealers heavily rely on third-party data to target and track consumers and drive revenue, but with surging privacy concerns and dissolving support for third-party cookies, they are going to have to find another way to market, and fast,” the company said in a news release.
That’s where Driven Data said its platform is designed to come into play.
“In 2017, I imagined this day would come, where users were not going to accept being tracked through a trail of cookies all over the internet, and advertisers were going to be behind the 8 ball, not having an innovative solution that could talk to multiple data sources and scale and adapt to changing environments,” Driven Data founder and chief executive officer Jon Berna said in a news release. “Our team has been building a platform to solve this exact issue and go well beyond what current marketing software solutions can do.”
Berna said the Series B funding gives Driven Data a way to “support our competitive edge, continue scaling our platform” and retain and attract employee talent.
As part of that, Driven Data has hired Liz Kelley as vice president of sales and media, and promoted Zach Hendrix to the role of chief customer officer.
Kelley’s most recent post was with Comcast’s Effectv and previously served as president of Kelley and Kelley Marketing.
Hendrix joined the company last year as vice president of strategy.
The company’s team has expanded from 12 employees to 50 in the last year-and-a-half, and it is looking to add more. Further details can be found at driven-data.com/careers.
“These additions to our team allow us to take the work we've been doing with first-party data and marketing attribution to the next level,” chief technology officer Ryan Moore said in a news release. “Zach's leadership in engaging new partners and Liz's experience in sales and media have brought a new dynamic to our team, and we're excited to deliver our software and strategies to a wider audience with Rick's guidance.”
It’s been an active month for Automotive Ventures.
Two weeks ago, chief executive officer and founder Steve Greenfield announced the final closing of the firm’s inaugural venture fund. Then according to a news release distributed on Wednesday, Automotive Ventures’ name surfaced again as it was involved with Lender Compliance Technologies (LCT) — a company that specializes in compliance solutions for automotive, RV, marine, and powersports finance companies — raising $4.15 million in a Series A funding round.
The round was led by a team of seasoned software entrepreneurs and joined by Automotive Ventures and Driven Capital Partners for the ongoing development of technology solutions to help finance companies mitigate regulatory risks.
This announcement comes on the heels of the launch of LCT’s Refund Control, a compliance-controlled compliance solution for F&I product cancellations and refunds, and the close of Automotive Ventures Fund I, an inaugural venture fund created by Automotive Ventures to support early-stage automotive technology companies.
“Banks, credit unions, and finance companies face increasingly stringent controls today,” Greenfield said in the news release. “Consumer F&I product cancellations and credits are tedious and if handled improperly, expose lenders to hefty fines and damaged reputations.
“Automotive Ventures, along with a syndicate of software entrepreneurs and Driven Capital Partners, invested in LCT because the company’s robust platform provides end-to-end services to simplify, automate, and streamline this process,” he continued. “With nearly 40 million F&I products purchased by consumers each year, the market is huge and the risks are significant. LCT helps mitigate these risks for lenders.”
Lender Compliance Technology’s flagship product, Refund Control, was introduced in April and is currently in the pre-sales phase, with official U.S. rollout scheduled in a few weeks, according to LCT president Glenn Munro, of and a 20+-year financial services industry veteran,
Munro said Refund Control is just the beginning of technology-driven solutions to help finance companies remain compliant across various aspects of their business.
“There has never been a more important time for lenders to successfully manage and navigate the many consumer regulations they face,” said Munro, who has been an executive in financial services for more than 20 years. “Vehicle industries are challenged in the wake of the pandemic and lending professionals need every available resource to mitigate risk.
“This funding from our trusted investment partners enables us to develop a full compliance roadmap and accompanying software solutions,” he continued. “Our ultimate goal is to help lenders provide their industry clients and vehicle consumers with an unparalleled level of service that meets regulatory requirements at every turn.”
Last week, Greenfield appeared again on the Auto Remarketing Podcast to discuss the latest activities at Automotive Ventures. That episode is available in the window below.
