UVeye, a company that uses artificial intelligence for vehicle inspections, has raised $100 million from investors including General Motors Co. and CarMax Inc.
(Bloomberg) — UVeye, a company that uses artificial intelligence for vehicle inspections, has raised $100 million from investors including General Motors Co.
and CarMax Inc.
The Series D round was led by Hanaco Ventures, a venture firm based in New York and Tel Aviv, and brings UVeye’s total funds raised to $200 million, the company plans to announce Tuesday.
The deal values UVeye at about $800 million, said a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The company last raised money in 2021 at a valuation of $300 million to $500 million, Bloomberg reported.
“We are able within a few seconds to understand the full condition of a vehicle,” UVeye Chief Executive Officer Amir Hever said in a Bloomberg Television interview on Tuesday.
“This is why we were able to raise, fairly, a lot of money. Especially right now, which is slightly harder in terms of everything that’s going on with the economy.”
GM backed the startup through its venture arm, GM Ventures.
Other existing investors participating in the round included W.R. Berkley Corp., FIT Ventures and Israeli institutional investors.
UVeye, based in New Jersey and Tel Aviv, provides hardware and software that it says work like an MRI machine for cars.
Its scanners can be used to detect problems like leaks and frame damage, and can conduct fast checks of tires and tire pressure. UVeye has commercial agreements with automakers, dealership groups and used-car auction companies.
The advantage of UVeye’s work in AI is that it allows its systems to identify problems in vehicle models and types that are unfamiliar, Hever said.
“If there is a new vehicle and we’ve never seen it before, we are still able to find most of the damage to that vehicle,” he said.
UVeye is manufacturing its systems in Indianapolis, Indiana.
The company plans to use the latest cash influx to boost sales growth in the US, as well as to expand into new markets.
(Updates with additional details from a Bloomberg Television interview starting in the third paragraph.)
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