Israeli vehicle inspection AI company Ravin.AI today announced the completion of its $15 million Series A financing round of led by KAR Global with the participation of existing investors PICO Venture Partners and FM Capital.
This latest financing round brings to $25 million the amount raised by Ravin. Other investors in the company include Shell Ventures, the investment arm of Royal Dutch Shell, and former General Motors CEO, Rick Wagoner. The latest financing round will be used for product development, expansion of the company's R&D center in Haifa and doubling the number of employees by the end of 2021.
Ravin, which was founded in 2018 by CEO Eliron Ekstein and Roman Sandler, provides automated artificial intelligence solutions for vehicle inspections serving diverse fleet, insurance and remarketing customers worldwide. Unlike other marketplace solutions, Ravin does not require customers to purchase or install dedicated hardware, but rather uses mobile and CCTV cameras, saving customers both time and money.
Ravin provides solutions for fleet maintenance, insurance claims, leasing, logistics and dealer aftersales. To date, the technology has been used to inspect over 1 million vehicles across Europe and the US, and major customers include Avis. The leasing operations of a major global car manufacturer will also be adopting the technology in the near future. In February 2020, Ravin was awarded the Frost & Sullivan prize for Best Practices in Vehicle Inspection Technology.
This is KAR's first investment in an Israel-based tech company. KAR will integrate Ravin's technology to support vehicle inspection solutions across the company's North American operations. The addition of Ravin to KAR's portfolio adds mobile-based artificial intelligence capabilities for damage detection and vehicle representation through a self-inspect or company-inspect model. Key applications include data-rich tools for end-of-lease processing, pre-auction inspections, dealer aftersales, fleet maintenance and condition monitoring.
Ravin already supports some of KAR's North American commercial customers, and the companies plan to accelerate product development while expanding the use and adoption of Ravin's technology.
Ekstein said, "We're proud to be part of KAR's disruptive digital strategy, and we look forward to empowering their North American commercial, financial, fleet, rental and dealer customers with our innovative inspection solutions. Digital marketplaces require trust, ease and highly integrated systems to help all participants succeed - all foundational elements of KAR's platforms today. Together, we will make the inspection process easier, faster and more connected for everyone."
