Magnitt | UAE-based Automotive Data Platform AlgoDriven raises $2M Series A

Algodriven, Glenn Harwood, Jarod Crossland, Dtec Ventures, Magnitt, Dtec portfolio, Dubai startup, automotive startup

The UAE-based automotive data platform AlgoDriven has successfully raised $2M in its latest funding round. The Series A round was led by Global Ventures, the Dubai-based international Vc, and recorded participation from Automotive Ventures, an Atlanta-based venture capital firm making their first international investment, Spartech Ventures, otf Wadi, Driven Capital Partners, and DTEC Ventures.

Founded in 2017, AlgoDriven supports car dealers, classifieds, banks, and insurance companies to accurately identify, and price used cars. The company’s core product, EvalExpert, streamlines the pre-purchase assessment and evaluation of cars, ultimately allowing dealers to benefit from more competitive trade-in deals. By valuing the trade-in component, AlgoDriven’s technology is helping car dealers and manufacturers sell more new cars online. Consumers also benefit via a better, faster, more professional experience when visiting dealers who use AlgoDriven’s tools.

As MENA grows in the complexity of its digitization, many startups have taken more interest in data collection and analysis to support data-driven decision-making and accurate forecasting. Of the deals closed by data aggregators in MENA, this has been the second round to be closed by the automotive industry after the on-demand car marketplace Seez early this year. Other rounds were raised by the likes of Tunis-based Biware collecting data for insurance, valuations, and projection models, Kuwait-based Sihaty creating fully digitized patient databases, and lastly, Egypt-based Sotech integrating IoT to collect actionable customer touch-point data sets.

Today, the company’s product is regularly used in over 600 car showrooms in Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, The GCC, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, and Sweden. AlgoDriven’s proprietary vehicle data platform is a complete solution of mobile apps, website plugins for car dealerships, enterprise APIs, and financial analytics. AlgoDriven’s clients include automotive dealerships representing almost all the automotive industry’s biggest and most prestigious brands including Audi, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

This recent investment marks a pivot point in the startup’s journey as Co-Founder Glenn Harwood highlighted “We’re excited to be partnering with Global Ventures for the next chapter of our journey. We have seen strong growth in demand for our automotive data and software over the last few years both regionally, and in the international markets we operate in. As trends such as E-commerce and new ownership models continue to transform the automotive industry, we expect demand for our vehicle data, pricing, and appraisal software to continue to increase.

AlgoDriven plans to utilize its newly acquired funds to expand the company’s reach globally into new regions and increase penetration in existing markets such as the MENA region and Australia. The UAE-based team also plans to further develop its product line to continue serving banks, insurance, classifieds, and inspection companies efficiently and with more functionality. Basil Moftah, General Partner at Global Ventures, concluded “Our investment thesis centers around strong, adaptable and resilient founding teams, disruptive technology, and demonstrable growth prospects. AlgoDriven boasts all three. Glenn and the team have a wealth of market and product experience, and the solution is data-driven, modular, and world-class. This round is set to position AlgoDriven for substantial growth, and we are thrilled to be part of the next chapter.”

 

Photo credit: Magnitt