Dealer Tech & Vehicle Commerce:
ACV Auctions has acquired Monk AI, an international artificial intelligence solutions company that automates vehicle damage detection, for $19 million. Monk’s computer vision AI technology enables users to take photos of a vehicle on their phone and, through machine learning, automatically identify scratches, dents and damages. (Link to article)
TradePending, a provider of vehicle valuation and merchandising software solutions to car dealerships, has acquired AutoAPR, a provider of website engagement tools for the automotive, power sports, RV, and marine industries. (Link to article)
F&I Sentinel — a leading compliance solutions provider with respect to the financing of F&I products — has partnered with Calera Capital, in a majority recapitalization of the business. (Link to article)
Aftermarket:
Roadside-assistance startup Urgently has held talks to go public through a merger with SPAC Graf Acquisition Corp. IV. A transaction features a potential private investment in public equity, or PIPE, and could value the combined entity at more than $700 million. (Link to article)
Bridgestone Americas today announced a minority investment in tire sensor and data management company Tyrata, Inc. Using an automated and cost-effective drive-over solution that measures tire tread, Tyrata collects tire wear data and provides actionable, cloud-based analytics. This strategic investment accelerates Bridgestone’s efforts to deploy advanced mobility solutions that improve fleet safety, efficiency and sustainability. (Link to article)
EverWash, a Philadelphia startup that allows customers to receive car washes on a subscription basis, raised a $6 million Series B, the company’s second round of funding in the last six months. New York investment firm Spring Mountain Capital led the round. The funding adds on to $5 million in debt raised by EverWash in September. (Link to article)
Vehicle Connectivity:
otonomo has acquired The Floow, for $69 million, including a performance-based earnout of up to $37.5 million. The Floow is a SaaS provider of connected insurance technology for major carriers globally. The combination of vehicle and mobile data from Otonomo and The Floow will be crucial to enabling innovative, usage-based and behavioral-based insurance products and to move from “detect and repair” to “predict and prevent” models to create safer, greener and smarter driving experiences for policyholders. (Link to article)
Electrification:
Capricorn Investment Group and BHP Group’s venture capital unit are backing a startup that says its processes make for cleaner and more efficient mining in lithium, the metal used in electric-vehicle batteries. Summit Nanotech closed on a $14 million investment round co-led by Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund and Temasek’s Xora Innovation, along with BHP Ventures. Funds will be used to help commercialize Summit’s technology. (Link to article)
Energy storage developer Our Next Energy (ONE) said it plans to build a battery plant in the U.S. after raising $65 million in a new round of funding. The funding round was led by BMW i Ventures, with Coatue Management joining in as a new investor. (Link to article)
Autonomy:
Bosch will acquire 3D-mapping company atlatec GmbH as the world’s largest auto supplier looks to boost its development of automated driving systems. Atlatec, based in Karlsruhe, Germany, creates high-resolution 3D maps for use in vehicles equipped with Level 3 or Level 4 automated technology. The company employs 25 people in Germany, Japan and the U.S., according to Bosch. Bosch sees digital maps as playing a “crucial role” in the development of automated driving, alongside vehicle sensors such as radar and cameras. (Link to article)
Starship Technologies, one of the bigger players in the world of autonomous delivery robots — the small, boxy vehicles that self-drive around cities and closed campuses delivering food and other small items — has raised yet another round of funding, just 30 days since its last financial infusion. The company, founded and developed in Estonia but headquartered in San Francisco, has picked up $42 million in equity, bringing the total raised to over $100 million in the last month after announcing at the end of January that the European Investment Bank (EIB) would be putting €50 million ($57 million) into the company. (Link to article)
Vehicle Assembly, Supply Chain & Logistics:
Greenscreens.ai, the premier dynamic pricing infrastructure for the logistics industry, announced its first outside investment, led by Tiger Global Management. (Link to article)
Micromobility:
Taur, a London-based e-scooter brand, is launching in Los Angeles after raising $1.75 million from Trucks VC. Taur came onto the scene in 2019 to launch a pre-order campaign for its premium, sleek, white e-scooters that are built with a foot deck that lets riders face forward while riding and a couple of big tires. The plan was to launch in London, but the U.K. has still failed to legalize privately owned e-scooters. (Link to article)
TIER Mobility, the Berlin-based micromobility operator that has been steadily taking over Europe, is making a sweeping entry into North America by acquiring Spin from automaker Ford Motor Company. Tier will acquire all of Spin’s 50,000 e-scooters and e-bikes, bringing the German company’s total fleet to 300,000. (Link to article)
Air Mobility & Space:
CesiumAstro, a startup that builds hardware and software for aerospace communications, has raised $60 million in funding from investors including Airbus Ventures and Kleiner Perkins. (Link to article)
German aviation startup Volocopter GmbH has raised $170 million from investors including funds run by Korean WP Investment in a new financing round as it seeks certification for its battery-powered flying taxi. (Link to article)
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