Dealer's Choice: New funding highlights AI's powerful role in modernizing auto dealerships

Quick recap: Numa, the AI platform reimagining how auto dealerships operate, has secured $32 million in a Series B funding round. Leading the investment are Touring Capital, a growth-stage firm focusing on AI-powered software, and Mitsui & Co., Ltd., a global conglomerate heavily invested in the automotive and mobility sectors. Existing backers Costanoa Ventures, Threshold, and Gradient Ventures also participated, further solidifying Numa’s position as a game-changer in the dealership market.

How it works: The platform is designed to integrate intelligent AI agents into every aspect of dealership operations—from answering missed calls and scheduling service appointments to coordinating inter-departmental tasks.

• Numa's AI optimizes customer interactions and improves operational efficiency, reducing customer response times from 23 hours to just 13 minutes.
• The startup is building “the AI-native dealership," transforming how dealerships run at their core by making operations and communications smarter and more customer-centric.

Why it matters: While the $1.2 trillion U.S. auto dealership market is growing, it remains burdened by outdated systems that hinder productivity and customer satisfaction. Numa’s purpose-built AI solution aims to eliminate these inefficiencies, offering a much-needed technological upgrade to an industry ripe for disruption. This is part of a broader trend: niche AI offerings targeting legacy industries. Similarly, in retail, AI-driven inventory management systems such as Shelf Engine help retailers reduce waste by predicting demand with greater accuracy. In healthcare, platforms like PathAI are revolutionizing diagnostics, enabling more precise and efficient analysis of medical images.

Industry Insights: William Camastro, dealer at Gold Coast Cadillac dealership in Oakhurst, NJ, has firsthand experience with the impact of Numa's platform. "Numa doesn't eliminate jobs—it makes employees more efficient," Camastro said in a phone interview. Numa allows the staff to communicate at a level 50% higher than they normally would, and it interacts with the Dealer Management System (DMS), pulling up customers' histories in real-time. “My fixed operations gross profit has increased by more than 100% in the last two years,” he said. "AI can't pick up a broom or open a garage door, but it enhances what our people can do. We schedule over 40% of our appointments through the Internet, and our service advisors can handle customer interactions even when they’re not physically in the store."

Bottom line: As AI continues to reshape legacy industries, Numa’s approach of augmenting rather than replacing human labor is one that other sectors will likely follow. With new funding in hand, Numa is poised to accelerate its growth, expand its engineering team, and further develop its AI platform, positioning itself as a leader in the ongoing transformation of the automotive service and sales landscape.