CARY, N.C. -

The Automotive Intelligence Summit is a month away, and these eight companies are set to be honored as Cherokee Media Group hosts one of the fastest-growing events focused on fintech, digital retail, mobility and other elements of the auto tech evolution.

This morning, Cherokee Media Group, leveraging guidance from the Auto Intel Council, released the first collection of honorees in the Emerging 8, a new award program designed to honor new companies that aim to improve a specific aspect or aspects of the vehicle-buying process through technology.

The Emerging 8 include:

AutoFi
AutoGravity
CreditIQ
Honcker
MotoInsight
PointPredictive
Roadster
TruDecision

“This first collection of Emerging 8 honorees established a high bar for our newest award program,” Cherokee Media Group president Bill Zadeits said. “Each company has a unique offering and story that already resonate throughout the auto fintech and digital retailing worlds.

“The Emerging 8 is set to be a significant part of the upcoming Automotive Intelligent Summit, which is designed to provide a setting for entrepreneurs and experts to gather so even more breakthrough ideas can germinate,” Zadeits added.

These exciting new companies are on the cusp of innovation in fintech development. They are all “on to something” that could turn the dial on their respective aspects of fintech in the next five years.

The collection of honorees for the 2019 Emerging 8 cover many aspects of fintech development, from vehicle remarketing and retail, to auto financing. Almost every aspect of the automotive wholesale and retail process stands to be changed and improved by technology coming out of the intersection of finance and technology.

The honorees are required to be in the early growth phases — roughly about 5 years old or younger, and making waves in the fintech solutions industry.

While the companies may have had outside investment and multiple rounds of funding, these innovative new names in the industry are pre-IPO and have not been launched or acquired by a larger entity with a foothold in the market.

Along with appearing during the Automotive Intelligence Summit, which runs July 23-25 in Raleigh, N.C., the Emerging 8 will be profiled in the July/August print and digital editions of the Auto Fin Journal.

The July/August issue of the Auto Fin Journal will cover the first-ever class of fintech’s Emerging 8, but readers can expect to see this feature annually going forward into 2020.

Not only will the Emerging 8 be recognized the in the Auto Fin Journal, they will also be invited to participate in Wednesday’s Emerging 8 Award Luncheon at the Auto Intelligence Summit on July 24.

Each company will be allowed the opportunity to explore their enterprises’ goals, mission, and plans from the AIS podium.

These new and upcoming companies, set to be honored next month at AIS 2019, were chosen by AIS and parent company Cherokee Media Group, in partnership with the members of the Auto Intel Council (AIC).

The AIC includes the leading intelligence companies in the automotive space, along with their respective economists, analysts, researchers, data scientists, communications professionals and executives.

AIC produces quarterly Auto Intel Briefings that features data reports, whitepapers, research, and more, contributed by AIC members. These Auto Intel Briefings provide the industry and its stakeholders unique insights and perspectives on various topics driving the automotive business. The latest installment is available here.

To learn more about these companies in person, register for the Automotive Intelligence Summit by going to www.autointelsummit.com.