Tekion, a US-based provider of sales software for car dealerships, secured $150m yesterday in a series C round featuring Airbus Ventures, the investment arm of aerospace manufacturer Airbus.
Private equity firm Advent International led the round, which included Exor, the holding company that owns carmakers Fiat Chrysler and Ferrari, as well as FM Capital, which numbers several car dealers among its limited partners, Index Ventures and private investor Joe Serra.
Founded in 2016, Tekion produces cloud software that digitises the management of car dealerships, allowing an entire chain of dealers to be connected together with multiple equipment manufacturers, and providing detailed data and facilitating personalised customer service.
The round valued Tekion above $1bn and it said this week its earlier backers include General Motors and BMW i Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of fellow carmaker BMW, but has not disclosed when they invested.
Alliance Ventures, the investment partnership formed by automotive manufacturers Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, had provided an undisclosed amount of funding for Tekion in January 2019.
The company has not revealed details of individuals rounds but stated it had previously received a total of $65m from investors also including Exor, Index Ventures, Storm Ventures, AME Cloud Ventures and unnamed dealer groups.
Tekion’s chief executive, Jay Vijayan, said: “We are fortunate and proud to be supported by great investors from the world’s top [original equipment manufacturer] brands, top dealers in the country, venture and private equity firms.
“We consider this as true validation of the value we are bringing to the industry. We are thrilled to welcome Advent as we scale our business, expand our products and transform what the auto retail experience should be.”
