BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | 17 APRIL 2023 | VIEW ONLINE ➡️

We are closing the Automotive Ventures DealerFund to new investors at the end of this month (April 30th). (Link)

GM will no longer offer Apple Carplay and Android Auto in its EVs. In 2011, GM introduced the Cadillac User Experience (CUE), a touchscreen infotainment suite, smartphone integration system, and a capacitive touch panel on the dashboard that used haptic feedback instead of physical buttons. It was an utter disaster. (Link)Is this news about Nissan Motor Corporation the first sign that the industry is ready to start producing fleet units at volume to fulfill pent-up demand? (Link)Tesla has published their "Master Plan Part 3" recommending 6 principle strategies to fix our carbon emissions problem, many of them focusing on efficiency: (Link)Energy Innovation Policy and Technology has a handy flowchart to help you understand if you qualify for the EV tax incentives. (Link)Artificial intelligence could eliminate the need for spreadsheet skills altogether. Researchers claim only a handful of jobs are AI resistant. They include dishwashing and stone masonry. (Link)A nearly two-year trend was broken in March 2023 when the average price paid for a new vehicle fell below MSRP for the first time in 20 months. (Link)EVs are heavy. Authorities in the UK are worried that older parking garages could collapse under the strain. (Link)The most expensive license plate in the world just transacted at $15 million USD (55 million dirhams) in an auction in Dubai. (Link)Have a great week,Steve Greenfield

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🎤 I caught up this week with CarDealershipGuy to discuss the Future of Automotive Retail. (Link)🎤 I'm hosting this year's "Emerging 8" honorees on stage this week at the Auto Intel Summit in Raleigh, NC. (Link)

🗞️ On this week's Future of Automotive segment on CBT News I discuss how generative AI may impact the auto industry and why GM is phasing out Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. (Link)

🎤 I'm the keynote speaker at the ToolTech 2023 conference this week in Albuquerque, NM. (Link)🗞️ Auto Remarketing covered Automotive Ventures' investment into Pitstop. (Link)🎤 I'll be speaking at the Capital One Accelerator Program this coming Friday in Dallas, TX. (Link)

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Gather Insurance

 is the compliant solution for in-dealership auto insurance validation. (

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GridMatrix 

software is built for traffic engineers to use real-time data analytics and video processing, helping them solve some of the most common and challenging problems without compromising privacy and security. (

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🚗 Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce

Automotive Ventures portfolio company Wrapmate completed a majority investment in Wrapify, a leader in measurable rideshare advertising. (Link)AutoAlert, a leading provider of data analytics solutions for the automotive industry, has been acquired by BlackRock. (Link)AutoLeap closed on a $30 million Series B funding round. The company has raised $53 million in total. AutoLeap provides an enterprise SaaS offering for the auto repair industry that digitizes workflow, including the processing of customer quoting, invoices and job estimates. (Link)

🛠️Aftermarket & Repair

Automotive Ventures is excited to announce our latest investment in Pitstop, a predictive maintenance software, using AI-driven insights and automated maintenance features to enable fleets to leverage the wealth of vehicle data to significantly reduce downtime and costs. (Link)Brazil's Mecanizou has raised a $14.5 million (R$ 76 million) Series A round. Mecanizou is infusing data intelligence into the auto parts market to create a database connecting mechanic shops and resellers to automotive parts suppliers. (Link)

🦾 Autonomy, Robotics & AI

Natix Network, a decentralized network of cameras creating real-time maps of cities, has raised $3.5 million in Seed funding. The Natix Network is a blockchain-based and crowdsourced camera network creating a real-time map of the world. (Link)

⚡Electrification & Alternative Fuels

Ecopro Materials, a maker of a key component used in electric-vehicle batteries, is seeking to raise at least 500 billion won ($377 million) in an initial public offering in Korea. (Link)General Motors announced that GM Ventures is leading a $50 million Series B financing round in EnergyX – a company specializing in direct lithium extraction and refinery technologies. (Link)

💵Finance & InsuranceAxle has developed a universal API for insurance data and is taking an approach of a “Plaid for insurance." Axle has raised a $4 million Seed round. (Link)

🛴 MicromobilityWhizz, an e-bike subscription platform for last-mile delivery drivers, has raised a $3.4 million Seed Round. Whizz rents purpose-built e-bikes offering 8-hour battery life, GPS trackers and built-in anti-theft systems, as well as on-demand maintenance and repairs. With subscriptions starting from $159/month, Whizz is 20% cheaper than competing services. (Link)

📱Shared Mobility & Subscription

Careem, the Middle East-based ride-hailing company that Uber bought in 2019, is spinning out its super app business into a new startup backed with $400 million from e& (formerly known as Emirates Telecommunications Group Company) to buy a 50.03% stake in the new company called Careem Technologies. (Link)Go, a digital platform that allows consumers to order a car with no down payment and no car salespeople, raised $6m in funding. (Link)

 🚛Supply Chain & Logistics

FRAYT, the last-mile on-demand delivery and logistics platform, has closed $7 million in Series A funding. FRAYT provides an on-demand SaaS delivery platform, enabling companies to offer scheduled or same-day delivery from their desktop, mobile devices or API integration. (Link)REPOWR has closed an $8 million Series A round. Repowr’s marketplace solution helps industry titans optimize their assets by expanding their margins with both revenue-enhancing and cost savings capabilities. (Link)

🚘 Vehicle Production & AssemblyNIO Capital and Hangzhou-based Orient Jiafu Asset Management have led a CNY 200m (USD $29m) Series A round for Bibo, a China-based automotive parts supplier. (Link)

🏎️ Early-stage AutoTech or Mobility founder? We'd love to hear from you.🏁 Interested in investing directly into early-stage AutoTech and Mobility companies? Check out The Automotive Ventures Investment Club (AVIC)📈 Are you an auto dealer interested in investing in early-stage AutoTech? Learn more about the DealerFund here.✨ Looking for our Dealership AutoTech Company Landscape? View that here.✨ Looking for our Mobility Tech Company Landscape? View that here.🚀 Interested in exploring Automotive Ventures' portfolio companies shown below? Check them out here.