Trusted online auto auction cruises past startup phase; raises additional $93 million in funding

ACV Auctions Inc., the leading dealer-to-dealer, online wholesale automotive marketplace, announced it has secured $93 million in Series D funding that will allow the company to continue its explosive nationwide growth. The company has experienced rapid growth as thousands of dealers turn to ACV Auctions to buy and sell wholesale inventory, without ever leaving their dealerships.

The rise of ACV comes at a time when online marketplaces have overtaken many brick-and-mortar retailers, and companies like Airbnb have changed entire industries. Having launched in June 2015, ACV now sells over 10,000 wholesale vehicles a month on its auction platform, which represents 1 percent of all vehicles sold at auctions today. ACV will operate in 80 markets coast to coast by year-end, up from 30 markets at the start of the year.

In total, ACV has raised over $145 million in funding since 2015. The new funding will enable ACV to double down on product and engineering, expand the breadth of its platform and provide new real-time data analytics to dealers. In addition, ACV will continue its nationwide expansion to over 140 territories in 2019. ACV is growing headcount by 30 people per month and now has 500 teammates across the country, up from 200 people earlier this year.

"Thousands of dealers around the country are turning to ACV Auctions as the trusted, transparent digital marketplace to buy and sell their wholesale inventory," said George Chamoun, ACV's chief executive officer. "We are proud to partner with Bain Capital Ventures and Future Fund to help fuel our continued growth. We have the resources to significantly increase investment in our platform, grow our passionate team across the country and continue to exceed dealers' expectations."

The latest round was led by Bain Capital Ventures and early investor Bessemer Venture Partners, and included Future Fund, Australia's sovereign wealth fund. The company's other early investors Tribeca Ventures and Armory Square Ventures also participated in the round.

"ACV has soared past startup phase at an incredible pace," said Brian Goldsmith of Bain Capital Ventures. "Its rapid growth and unwavering commitment to meet the buying and selling needs of auto dealers has proven it can and will continue to disrupt the traditional marketplaces for the better."

"We are fortunate to have supported ACV Auctions since the beginning and throughout every stage of their growth," said Bob Goodman, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. "We have been particularly impressed by George and the team's ability to stay ahead of the competition by moving fast and constantly innovating on their market leading product to change the way dealers buy and sell cars. We see a bright future ahead for ACV as they continue to grow nationwide and are excited to once again back the team."

As margins compress from new vehicle sales, many dealers are turning to wholesale to make up for the loss. ACV helps dealers eliminate the gamble involved in selling and buying used vehicles from traditional sources. Extensive condition reports are key to ACV's success. They provide buyers with transparent information to make informed decisions about vehicles they are interested in purchasing regardless of their distance from the seller. ACV's wholesale process enables dealers to access a national buyer pool and reduces the risk of arbitration, providing quicker inventory turnover and no surprises.

"One hundred percent of our wholesale inventory is sold digitally through ACV," said Scott Spadafora, used car manager at Circle Chevrolet in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. "With ACV, we're able to free up space quickly, create new deals and bring in new customers, so it's very beneficial for us. I haven't done a bid-sale since starting with the platform and I never will again."

Despite already reaching an annual run-rate of selling $1 billion in gross merchandise per year, ACV still has tremendous growth ahead. The automotive auction industry sells approximately $100 billion in gross merchandise per year and there is a large segment not currently sold through auction companies. The market is large and ready for disruption, dealers are ready and ACV Auctions is here to serve them.

For more information on ACV Auctions, visit acvauctions.com or @ACVAuctions on Twitter.

About ACV Auctions
ACV Auctions is an online, wholesale vehicle marketplace that provides franchise and used-car dealerships a more effective and transparent way of buying and selling wholesale vehicles through 20-minute auctions. Its technology modernizes the entire arc of auction operations, providing third-party inspections, account management, title and payment processing, managing arbitration and transportation. The company strives to be the most trusted source in the industry for dealers to buy and sell wholesale vehicles. To learn more, visit www.acvauctions.com.

About Bain Capital Ventures
Bain Capital Ventures partners with disruptive founders to accelerate their ideas to market. The firm invests from seed to growth in startups driving transformation across industries, including SaaS, infrastructure software, security, commerce, fintech and healthcare. The firm has helped launch and commercialize more than 240 companies, including DocuSign, Jet.com, Kiva Systems, LinkedIn, Rapid7, Rent the Runway, SendGrid, SurveyMonkey, Taleo, TellApart and Turbonomic. Bain Capital Ventures has $4.9 billion in assets under management with offices in San Francisco, New York, Boston and Palo Alto. Follow the firm via LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners is the world's most experienced early-stage venture capital firm. With a portfolio of more than 200 companies, Bessemer helps visionary entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to create companies that matter, and supports them through every stage of their growth. The firm has backed more than 120 IPOs, including Shopify, Yelp, LinkedIn, Skype, LifeLock, Twilio, SendGrid, DocuSign, Wix, and MindBody. Bessemer's 14 partners operate from offices in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, New York City, Boston, Israel, and India.

About Future Fund
The Future Fund is Australia's sovereign wealth fund, investing for the benefit of future generations of Australians. The Future Fund was established in 2006 to strengthen the Australian Government's long-term financial position. At 30 September 2018 it was valued at $149bn and has returned 9.2% pa over the last 10 years, against a target benchmark return of 6.5% pa. Investment returns have added over $88bn to the original contributions of $60.5bn made by government. The organisation is also responsible for investing four other public asset funds with a combined value of $32bn. Read more at www.futurefund.gov.au.