Modal (company)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software, Automotive |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | Car dealerships |
| Products | Software enabling online sales of new and pre-owned vehicles for car dealerships |
Modal, previously known as Next Technology Inc., was a software firm headquartered in San Francisco that specialized in enabling car dealerships to conduct online sales of both new and pre-owned vehicles.
In 2016, operating under the name Next Technologies, the company was accepted into the seed accelerator program Y Combinator.
History
Established in 2015 with support from Khosla Ventures, Modal focused on solving the absence of platforms that allowed dealerships to complete vehicle purchases online.[1] The founder’s own difficulties in buying a car after selling his initial company to Yahoo! in 2013 revealed inefficiencies in the market and inspired the creation of a streamlined solution.[2] He observed that ecommerce had yet to fully enter the new car sales sector, where most existing options were limited to online listings without transactional capabilities.[3]
Following rapid early progress, Next Technologies joined Y Combinator in 2016 after reaching $1 million in annual recurring revenue within less than a year of launching.[4] That same year, the company took part in the AutoVentures Conference, where it was among the finalists and ultimately secured the top prize while operating under the name Drive Motors.[5] In June 2019, Drive Motors underwent rebranding and adopted the name Modal Commerce.[6]
Modal acquired its initial enterprise customer in 2016 when Asbury Automotive Group began piloting its platform at select dealership locations.[7] Encouraged by successful outcomes, Asbury extended the software’s deployment to more dealerships.[8] Subsequently, Modal expanded its client roster to include major brands such as Honda, Nissan, Porsche, Lithia, and Group One.
Mechanics
The software enables dealerships to facilitate vehicle sales directly through their own websites.
External links
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedy - ↑ Cutler, Kim-Mai (October 1, 2013). "Yahoo To Acquire Sports-Centric Mobile Developer Hitpost". TechCrunch.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedtechcrunch - ↑ "Fraser McCombs Capital Bridges the Gap to AutoTech". DrivingSales. November 29, 2016.
- ↑ Geraldi, Ryan. "Recap of 2016 DrivingSales Executive Summit and AutoVentures". Dealer Refresh.
- ↑ "Drive Motors Is Now Modal, Announces $5 Million From New Investors To Expand Its Automotive Digital Commerce Technology" (Press release). June 14, 2019.
- ↑ "Asbury expands online sales experiment". Automotive News. August 15, 2016.
- ↑ Overby, Joe (August 10, 2016). "Asbury offers 100% online car-buying via Drive Motors". Auto Remarketing.