Miami, FL/ Jerusalem, IL – AutoLeadStar, the digital customer data and experience platform for the automotive industry that transforms the way cars are sold, announced today a $40 million growth round of financing led by Riverwood Capital with the participation of existing investors.
AutoLeadStar is the leading provider of AI-powered marketing automation technology to auto-dealerships and manufacturers, enabling personalized marketing, digital commerce, and consumer engagement that informs and executes millions of decisions a day. In an increasingly digital economy where over 65% of consumers expect to complete most of the car buying process online, AutoLeadStar’s foundational technology—powered by its “Customer Data and Experience Platform” (or CDXP)—not only integrates disparate data silos ranging from sales, inventory, marketing, and commerce, into a single platform, but also facilitates seamless actioning of a data-informed strategy for dealerships.
The iconic car dealership sector has been a fixture of US culture since the early 1900s. In the US alone it is more than a $1.5 trillion-dollar industry with a $150 billion annual spend on advertising, people, and operations and deep ties to local and regional economies, yet it remains ripe for digital transformation.
“The customer car purchasing experience is rapidly changing and the automotive industry is thirsty for new technologies to serve the modern consumer,” said AutoLeadStar co-founder and CEO Aharon Horwitz. “AutoLeadStar is the industry’s premier tech lab, where we partner with dealers to envision the robust digital systems, online processes, and software they need for an increasingly digitized business landscape. We are excited to partner with Riverwood Capital to double down on and expand our investment in the technology we can provide for auto retailers. Car dealerships are massive drivers of economic growth and value in communities, and especially given the current economic climate, we are proud to be helping dealerships succeed in the digital era. ”
AutoLeadStar has been growing its revenues and scale at over 100% year-over-year for the past few years and the Company’s software is used by nearly 1,000 dealerships across the United States and Canada, including many of the top dealer groups, to intelligently automate once siloed, outdated, and manual systems. In this new financing round, Riverwood Capital joins a roster of existing investors including PICO Venture Partners, Target Global, and Aleph.
Francisco Alvarez-Demalde, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Riverwood Capital commented: “AutoLeadStar is disrupting a market dominated by fragmented legacy solutions. The Company is providing dealerships with the most attractive software automation platform which consolidates data sources and implements hyper-targeted, sophisticated marketing campaigns to digitally engage with consumers, increasing sales, productivity, and ROI. Aharon and the AutoLeadStar team are incredibly driven. They have built a company that is anchored by a world class product platform and go-to-market team, and by a relentless focus on customer success and quality thus delivering tremendous growth and world class software metrics.”
Ramesh Venugopal joins AutoLeadStar’s mission in bringing top-tier technology to dealerships as the newest board member. He added: “We are excited about partnering with such a high energy and dynamic team as they continue to support the digitalization of the automotive retail sector.”
About AutoLeadStar
AutoLeadStar is the automotive retail industry's most trusted Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP), which unifies dealership’s first-party data and leverages it to create seamless omni-channel marketing campaigns that sell more cars with less cost. AutoLeadStar’s full-stack technology includes SEM and social digital marketing automation, on-site intelligence and engagements, VIN-level marketing strategy,smart email marketing and CRM lead activation. Used by nearly 1000 dealerships across the United States and Canada, including many top 150 dealer groups, AutoLeadStar's CDXP is advancing dealer tech adoption in this enormous segment of the economy. Investors in AutoLeadStar include PICO Venture Partners, Target Global, and Aleph.
About Riverwood Capital
Riverwood Capital invests in high-growth companies in the technology and technology-enabled industries. Riverwood offers a unique combination of operational, strategic, technology, and financial insight to a selective group of portfolio companies that can benefit from growth capital and expertise to scale on a global basis. The firm seeks to invest in established businesses with a proven technology and business model, and the proper fit in terms of culture and values. Riverwood has offices in Menlo Park, CA; New York, NY; Miami, FL; and São Paulo, Brazil.