BY AUTOMOTIVE VENTURES | 30 JANUARY 2023 | VIEW ONLINE ➡️

This past week, most of the auto industry descended on Dallas for the NADA Conference. It’s my favorite week of the year as I get to catch up with many industry colleagues and discover new, innovative technology companies that might be prospects for our investment funds. Here are some of the more interesting companies we saw out at NADA that might be worth checking out: SKAI Vision, MOVE, PartsTech, Privacy4Cars, MyDealerKPI, WarrCloud, AutoVision, RockED, VinCue, and HopDrive.Have a great week,Steve Greenfield

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🎙️ In addition to moderating the NADA Super Session on Thursday, Steve Greenfield was interviewed by David Spisak at the Tekion booth, presented on The Future of Automotive Retail at the LotLinx booth and was interviewed at the CBT News booth.📰 Automotive News published Steve Greenfield's op-ed piece during the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention.🏆 Steve Greenfield accepted the AWA Lighthouse Award at NADA on Thursday. Thank you to Brian Pasch and the PCG Digital team. (More Here)

🎙️ Automotive Ventures portfolio company Recurrent's CEO Scott Case provides some predictions for 2023. (Link to Article)

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Automotive News Video: Experian, Recurrent partner to help ease range anxiety.🎙️Automotive Ventures portfolio company Privacy4Cars announced NCM Associates CEO Paul Faletti has been appointed to their Board of Advisors. (More Here)🎙️Privacy4Cars announced an exclusive, multi-year distribution agreement for the Canadian market with HeyCar. (More Here)🎙️Steve Greenfield participated in a live panel discussion last Wednesday with Ridecell and Automotive Fleet Magazine.

🎙️ Steve Greenfield will moderate this Reuters panel on "The Digital Dealership of the Future" with Doug Miller, Scott Bender and Michelle Garcia Dorminey. 

🌟 DealerFunnel connects buyers to dealerships instantly. They offer the most advanced text messaging software platform for connecting leads to dealerships and nurturing those leads to a sale.

 (More here)

🌟 Circunomics is dedicated to increasing the efficiency and profitability of reuse and recycling of lithium-ion batteries. Circunomics provides digital twin technology and analytics software that monitors and predicts battery condition. (More here)

🚗 Dealer Tech & Auto Commerce:

Congratulations to Automotive Ventures portfolio company HopDrive for closing their $8 million Series A funding round. The round was led by Atlanta’s Cox Enterprises and included participation from Overline, Acertus, and Ally Ventures. HopDrive provides a concierge service for fleet management companies, auto dealerships, and others in the transportation sector. (Link to article)Dealership software provider Vehlo acquired Rapid Recon and Velocity Automotive in an effort to bolster dealers' used-car sales and profitability. "The addition of Rapid Recon and Velocity to our portfolio allows us to connect the service department to its best customer: the pre-owned department. Rapid Recon adds the reconditioning solution that invented the software category, while Velocity Automotive gives us a digital merchandising solution that connects those reconditioning investments to the sales process." (Link to article)Digital Air Strike, the largest automotive Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP) company, announced the acquisition of Cliff Banks' AUTOVATE. (Link to article)

🛠️ Aftermarket & Repair:

India-based FuelBuddy raised $20 million led by Naveen Jindal Group, Ravi Jaipuria Group (RJ Corp) and Nilesh Ved (Apparel Group, UAE). The fuel delivery startup will deploy the funding to begin operations in the UAE market, along with expansion across India and Southeast Asia (SEA). Founded in 2016, FuelBuddy is a doorstep fuel delivery startup. (Link to article)Manheim acquired the undercarriage imaging technology of Synthetik Applied Technologies. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Manheim partnered with Synthetik in 2022, installing close to 40 of its undercarriage imaging devices at 26 of its auctions and capturing some 500,000 images. The devices are affixed to the ground and take digital photographs of a vehicle’s undercarriage as it drives over. (Link to article)

🦾 Autonomy, Robotics & AI:

Chinese LiDAR systems provider Hesai Technology Group filed for a $100 million US initial public offering. The company hopes to list its shares on Nasdaq under the symbol HSAI. The company develops and manufactures LiDAR systems for advanced driver-assistance systems, or ADAS, autonomous mobility and robotics. (Link to article)Oxbotica, a startup out of England that develops software to power autonomous vehicles, has closed a Series C round of $140 million. The basic model for Oxbotica is B2B: It sells and customizes its autonomous software, which it dubs “Universal Autonomy,” for a range of enterprise customers. (Link to article)Robotic lawnmower startup Scythe Robotics announced a $42 million Series B, which brings its to-date funding north of $60 million. The round was led by Energy Impact Partners and features new investors like ArcTern Ventures, Alumni Ventures and the Amazon Alexa Fund. Scythe began delivering the mower to customers in Texas late last year and is beginning to deliver them in Florida as well. This new round will — in part — go toward fulfilling its 7,500 existing reservations. (Link to article)

⚡ Electrification & Alternative Fuels:

BMW iVentures announced a lead investment in AMPECO, an electric vehicle charging management platform that enables large-scale public, business, fleet, and residential providers to manage EV chargers at scale. AMPECO’s hardware-agnostic white-label solution for customized charging systems gives charging network operators full ownership over all aspects of their business, enabling them to select their preferred hardware partners, and manage branding, customer relations, partnerships, and payment flows. AMPECO's solution also seamlessly integrates with smart meters, building management systems, and renewable energy sources to maximize efficiency. (Link to article)

EV charging infrastructure player Orange Charger closed a $2.5 million round late last year, led by Baukunst. Intelis Capital, Elevation Ventures, and Wardenclyffe Partners also participated in the round. Working within the typical constraints of multifamily dwellings (think apartment buildings, etc.), the company makes it super easy for building managers to install sockets, especially for overnight charging of vehicles (as opposed to the high-voltage, high-amperage chargers you see in fast chargers). (Link to article)

💲Finance & Insurance:

The Reynolds and Reynolds Company acquired American Guardian Warranty Services for an undisclosed price. American Guardian Warranty Services of Chicago provides vehicle service contracts, limited warranties and additional finance and insurance products and services. Reynolds is a dealership software, services and forms company in Dayton, Ohio. (Link to article)

📲Shared Mobility & Subscription:

Carflip, a Brazilian car subscription service, raised an undisclosed investment from Stellantis. (Link to article)

🚚 Supply Chain & Logistics:

Trucking-as-a-service startup Forum Mobility has formed a $400 million joint venture with CBRE Investment Management and Homecoming Capital to create charging depots for electric drayage trucks in California. The move aims to bring electric charging availability into better alignment with the growth in battery-powered trucks. Most early sales and leases of the zero-tailpipe-emission Class 8 models are targeted at California’s ports. Idling internal combustion engines cause significant air pollution in nearby communities. In addition to the $300 million from CBRE and $100 million pledged by Homecoming Capital to the joint venture, Forum closed a $15 million Series A funding round. (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.