AutoUnify is an exciting new Canadian startup founded by Joel Milne. It has made the jump into the automotive retail space with a pioneering API that allows for seamless real-time communication between dealerships, service centers, auto manufacturers and software providers. Launched during the UP.Summit 2022 in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company has rapidly taken the industry’s attention by storm.
Prior to this, Milne founded and successfully sold the mobile auto repair service startup RepairSmith to AutoNation. Today, he chairs the board of AutoUnify with an ambitious mission—to unify and simplify automotive retail. The company aims to provide a common language for thousands of dealerships and mechanic shops, addressing an industry challenge where the average dealership relies on more than 40 different software systems.
To address the massive communication hurdles between dealerships and shops, we built a powerful API. This tool allows for transparent and easy communication between everyone at the table, Milne said. “We had this problem of, ‘how do you work with dealerships and shops and talk to them as you’re running around repairing cars and trying to refer them business or get parts from them?’”
Last month, AutoUnify announced a $5 million funding round led by UP.Partners. Such financial backing will allow the company to advance its technology and further develop its offerings to the industry. AutoUnify functions as a move fast and break things venture lab. Its ultimate goal is to disrupt the automotive industry as profoundly as the financial services industry was disrupted two decades ago.
John Kuolt, a representative from UP Labs, shared their excitement about what AutoUnify can do for the industry and its workers. “It’s exactly the kind of breakthrough we build for: a company that not only tackles a technical challenge but fundamentally reshapes how an entire industry operates,” he remarked.
The new-but-lean startup now employs nine full-time staff. By the end of this year, it expects to expand its staff to about 20. Onboarding In 2024, AutoUnify successfully piloted its services with various customers. Now, it is preparing to roll out sales to the broader automotive industry.
UP Labs has already partnered with world-renowned organizations such as Porsche, Alaska Airlines, and JB Hunt. Yasamin and co founder Shaz Qadeer are founders of four startups, including Pull Systems and Sensigo. UP Labs has remained a key partner with AutoUnify, providing essential resources and guidance. This partnership gives AutoUnify confidence to pursue lofty expansion goals.
Kuolt further stressed that the company’s overriding focus for the remainder of the year is establishing proof-of-concept technology and creating the sales pipeline. This new pledge further underscores their ambition to increase national and global distribution, and strengthen technical capacity.