Automatic Car Inspecting Draws $100M Investment

Car-inspection start-up UVeye has raised $100 million in series D funding to accelerate the rollout of its automated vehicle inspection technology in North America.

The company, which has offices in Tel Aviv, New Jersey and Ohio, has attracted great interest from the automotive industry in its solutions, which use machine learning and artificial intelligence to make potentially complicated inspections a much more straightforward task.

The funding round was led by Hanaco VC, along with General Motors Ventures, Carmax and insurer W. R. Berkley Corporation.

According to UVeye, the latest investment will be used to start production of its inspection systems in North America, support further sales growth and intensify expansion efforts in new markets.

UVeye’s automated inspections are already in place at some American dealerships. In 2022, for example, Swedish automaker Volvo revealed it was introducing the technology at a number of its facilities, while GM and Carmax are also partners.

The high-speed camera-based systems use computer vision and machine learning to check tires, underbody components and vehicle exteriors for defects, missing parts and other issues.

As well as having the potential to prevent potentially serious problems, it’s claimed the inspections provide a consistency that isn’t always delivered when checks are by humans.

Amir Hever, the company’s CEO and co-founder, explained: “UVeye's goal is to both revolutionize and standardize how the auto industry detects vehicle damage and mechanical issues. Our patent-protected technology provides automakers, dealers and fleet operators with unmatched solutions for quickly and accurately identifying vehicle problems while setting new quality standards for the industry.”

UVeye produces three rapid drive-through systems designed to be deployed at new and used car dealerships, auctions and by fleet users.

Helios is an underbody scanner that checks for frame damage, missing parts and fluid leaks, as well as brake- and exhaust-system issues.

Artemis assesses tire quality, with the capacity to identify specific brands, technical specifications, air pressure, tread depth, sidewall damage, mismatching and alignment issues.

And Atlas is a 360-degree exterior detection system that checks sheet metal and bumpers, door locks, grilles and windows.

“As electric and autonomous vehicles become more and more complex and fleets become more difficult to manage, low-cost and high-frequency predictive maintenance will become an essential part of any auto stack,” said Lior Prosor, a partner at Hanaco VC.

“Automated inspection of vehicles enabled by advanced computer vision and AI is in its first innings but will completely transform the auto industry,” he said.