Participated · Seed · May 2022

Revvo Technologies offers an intelligent software platform to manage and optimize tires using connected vehicle data and proprietary smart tire-mounted sensors. The platform combines connected-vehicle telematics with smart tire-mounted sensors to enable tire management and optimization. The company is based in San Mateo, California. Revvo announced it has raised an additional $6M in Series Seed funding. The round was led by Cercano Management, with participation from Discount Tire and Norwest Venture Partners. The article did not disclose operating metrics, valuation, or prior total capital raised. Revvo offers a sensor-enabled AI software platform with proprietary sensors embedded inside tires that generate a real-time feed of a tire’s condition and performance. The sensors capture thousands of data points per second and send data to the cloud via an app on the driver’s phone. Revvo applies machine learning and AI models to the aggregated data to better predict tire tread wear and provide insights on road conditions and driver behavior. The company’s initial commercial focus is the fleet sector, which consumes tires at a disproportionately high rate. Revvo says its platform increases vehicle uptime, optimizes efficiency, and improves safety. The company will use the financing to continue building the product and to expand its technical and business development teams.

Led · Series A · Oct 2021

RoboTire is a Detroit-based startup that develops robotic systems to automate tire replacement. The company was founded by former Spark Robotics CEO Victor Darolfi. Its underlying technology can change a set of tires in less than 15 minutes, by the company’s count. RoboTire announced a $7.5 million Series A that it says will be used to expand operations in Detroit. The round was led by The Reinalt-Thomas Corporation, the parent of Discount Tire and America’s Tire, and included Automotive Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners and 640 Oxford Ventures. Discount Tire is expected to be among the first adopters and has publicly expressed support for the company’s efforts to reduce wait times and improve customer experience. RoboTire builds automated tire‑changing robotic systems that can remove and install a set of four tires in about 10 minutes, compared with roughly 60 minutes for a human operator. Partnering with Mitsubishi Robotics, the company has designed a system that currently costs about $250,000 and is intended to be licensed to service centers, dealers and other outlets. For pilot customers the company charges roughly $5–$7 per tire, with expected commercial pricing of $10–$15 per tire. RoboTire projects a robot will generate about $10,000 a month, which would pay back the unit cost in around two years. The first pilot partner is Toole's Garage in San Carlos, California, and the company plans to manufacture and assemble systems in Detroit. Founded in October 2018 and coming out of Y Combinator stealth, RoboTire is targeting a larger follow-on round to deploy pilot systems.