BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | 16 JANUARY 2023 | VIEW ONLINE ➡️

Is The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) Replacing Legacy Auto Shows?I had a chance to spend a few days out at CES, and it is increasingly becoming the defacto U.S. auto show. While attendance at some of the other anchor auto shows across the country has waned, CES has more automotive content than ever. At the show you’ll find CEOs and executives across almost every OEM, supplier, AutoTech company, and a critical number of investors including bankers and venture capitalists. Interestingly, I saw very few auto dealers attend CES; but I think this will change given the growing importance of this show to the automotive space.If you haven’t been to the Consumer Electronics Show, I encourage you to prioritize a trip out next year. You’ll be surprised at how the CES conference, the largest conference that Las Vegas hosts, dwarfs the size of the National Automobile Dealer Association (NADA) Conference.

Many thanks,Steve Greenfield

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🎙️ Steve Greenfield caught up with Paul J Daly and Kyle Mountsier from ASOTU from the floor at CES. Give it a listen here.🎙️ Steve Greenfield had a chance to catch up with Marcus Amick from RockED to discuss his new book "The Future of Automotive Retail". Give it a listen here.

🏆 Steve Greenfield will receive the AWA Lighthouse Award this year at the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) conference in Dallas later this month. Many thanks to Brian Pasch and all of his team! (More here)

🗓️ The Automotive Ventures investment team is excited to meet with any seed/pre-seed startups attending NADA in Dallas later this month. Book time with us here.

🌟 StrategicDX believes that the most important relationship in the auto sales industry is between the dealer and their customer, leading the dealer to increased sales and meaningful customer retention. Strategic DX, deploys advanced technology called Your Dealer Experience (YDE), that has direct linkage to this industry critical mission. (More here)

🌟 Quantifi is a data solutions and technology company that aims to evolve data practices in the automotive industry. Your dealership deserves the essential data and analytics to empower your team members to make the right, most cost-effective and pragmatic decisions.(More here)

🚗 Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce:

Digital marketing technology and services provider PureCars, has acquired data management platform The AutoMiner. PureCars, the leading provider of digital marketing technology and services for automotive dealers, announced today its acquisition of data management platform, The AutoMiner.  Addition of first-party data cleansing and secure storage enhances PureCars' ability to leverage high-quality consumer data across advertising channels, improving the effectiveness of sales, fixed operations and retention marketing programs. (Link to article)

✈️ Air Mobility & Space:

Stellantis announced a deal with air taxi startup Archer to mass-produce the company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. As part of the deal, Stellantis will provide $150 million in equity capital. Archer has since gone public by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Atlas Crest Investments. Stellantis, along with United Airlines, was an investor in the deal that raised $1.1 billion and valued the combined company at $3.8 billion. (Link to article)

🦾 Autonomy, Robotics & AI:

Opsys Technologies, which develops scanning LiDAR technology, announced the final closing of its Series C financing round. The final closing raised $36.5 million, bringing the total amount of Series C funding to $51.5 million. The financing round included investments by 83NORTH, Osage University Partners (OUP), Translink Capital, and Saban Ventures. Opsys Tech has developed a high-performance solid-state scanning LiDAR sensor with no moving parts.(Link to article)PreAct Technologies, the market leader in near-field software-definable flash LiDAR technology, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Barcelona-based Gestoos, makers of a unique software platform that enables users with no specialized training to quickly generate AI algorithms that address their use cases. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition reinforces PreAct's leadership in providing the highest-performing sensor solutions for automotive, trucking, robotics and other industrial applications.(Link to article)Lidar company Luminar Technologies has acquired HD mapping startup Civil Maps. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is part of Luminar’s longer-term vision to be more than just a lidar supplier. Mapping, specifically the mapping tech that Civil Maps created, is foundational to that goal. (Link to article)PreAct Technologies, a startup that uses near-field sensors to help sense a vehicle’s surroundings and respond, raised $14 million to drive research and development. The Series B round was led by I Squared Capital, with participation from State Farm Ventures, Luminate and Traylor Capital, among others. The new funding round will be used to go after industries including agriculture, healthcare and robotics. Total funding to date is $28 million. (Link to article)

⚡ Electrification & Alternative Fuels:

Eco-Movement , a provider of EV charging station data, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a Series A round of funding led by Ponooc and Dow Jones. Existing shareholders Bridford Group and Arches Capital also participated in the round.  Eco-Movement provides charge point location and pricing information to navigation providers, online maps, and fleet operators. (Link to article)

J.D. Power announced it has acquired ZappyRide, to bolster its initiative created to provide software and data to greentech stakeholders, including dealer groups, fleet companies, automakers, suppliers, electric utilities, and other players in the electric vehicle space. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. J.D. Power will integrate ZappyRide into its Autodata Solutions, Part of J.D. Power division. (Link to article)

📰 Media & Lifestyle:

Welcome Pickups, an Athens, Greece-based Global Travel Transportation startup, raised €5.3M in funding. The round was led by Market One Capital, Flashpoint Venture Capital, and VentureFriends. Welcome Pickups is a travel company offering a personalized travel experience. It offers 100 destinations in 50 countries, with a goal to reach 400 by 2024 EOY. 33 new destinations were launched in 2022 with over 2,000 travel partners. (Link to article)

🚚 Supply Chain & Logistics:

Trinity Industries has acquired railroad equipment manufacturer Holden America LLC for $70 million. The acquisition of the railroad equipment manufacturer will provide Trinity a market-leading bi-level chock system. (Link to article)Asset-light trucking provider Forward Air Corporation will acquire expedited less-than-truckload provider Air Land Express for $56.5 million. Bowling Green, Kentucky-based Land Air Express’ network includes 270 employees and over 200 drivers operating out of more than 25 terminals throughout the U.S. Its offering includes guaranteed, same-day, hot shot and pickup and delivery services of shipments as small as an individual parcel up to a full trailer load.(Link to article)

🌐 Vehicle Connectivity & Cybersecurity:

Valtech has acquired Tome Software to help companies and societies provide safe and exceptional experiences in mobility. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. Complementing Valtech's expertise in innovative business strategies and in-car experiences, Tome Software brings people together in an increasingly mobile landscape, applying advanced technologies that drive equity and inclusion in mobility. Bringing these capabilities together provides the industry with a partner that can transform customer experiences and bridge the gap between in-car experiences and the need to improve mobility safety. (Link to article)FocalPoint, the UK software company which provides next-generation positioning solutions for mobiles, wearables and vehicles, has announced a strategic investment from GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors, and a collaboration with GM to explore the application of next-generation GPS technologies to the automotive market. FocalPoint’s Supercorrelation technology addresses the critical issue of GPS inaccuracies from current receivers in cities, bringing navigation positioning better in line with modern customer and business demands. The collaboration with GM will focus on possible application of the technology in future vehicles, including potential enhancements and expansion of its Super Cruise advanced hands-free driving assistance technology and its upcoming Ultra Cruise advanced driver assistance system in the coming years. (Link to article)

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