Tekion has entered the unicorn club with its latest Series C funding round. With development centres in India, Tekion received a funding of $150 million led by Advent International, at a valuation in excess of $1 billion, according to a press statement.
Tekion was founded in 2016 by Jay Vijayan, the former CIO of Tesla. It is an automotive industry-focused technology startup. Tekion had raised $65 million prior to the current round. Its other key investors include General Motors, BMW iVentures, and Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance Ventures. Tekion launched its first product in the third quarter of 2019, targeted at automobile dealers in North America. The SaaS-based technology platform connects dealers, car owners, and manufacturers to provide end-to-end services, delivered through the cloud.
Jay Vijayan, CEO of Tekion said, “Today’s consumers receive outstanding personalised retail experiences from companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Disney. Why shouldn’t they expect the same in their vehicle acquisition and service needs? We believe, Tekion will be the trailblazer for enabling the modernisation of the entire consumer journey and providing the best experiences and operational efficiencies, period. It’s time to even the playing field for the automotive retail industry.”
Speaking on the investment, Eric Wei, Managing Director, Advent, said, “Their dealer-friendly approach to contract terms and data ownership will be a breath of fresh air for dealers. We are incredibly excited about the platform and the size of the opportunity.”
The latest funding will be used by Tekion to make additional investment in its platform, and scale the operations of the startup.