up.labs: Porsche's Startup Aims to Revolutionize Automotive Retail

A Solution to Automotive Retail's Communication Challenges

Joel Milne, a seasoned entrepreneur who previously founded, grew, and ultimately sold the mobile auto repair service RepairSmith to AutoNation, encountered a recurring obstacle during his business ventures.

A significant communication deficiency exists within the automotive retail sector, resulting in substantial financial losses. Numerous dealerships and repair shops – each utilizing diverse software systems – currently lack a standardized method for seamless communication with manufacturers and other industry stakeholders.

The Problem of Fragmentation

“A key challenge we faced was establishing effective communication with dealerships and shops, particularly when coordinating car repairs, offering referrals, or procuring parts,” Milne explained. “The current landscape is highly fragmented, complex, and expensive due to the need for numerous custom integrations with individual stores.”

On average, a single dealership relies on over 40 distinct software systems. These encompass dealer management systems, customer relationship management tools, digital retailing platforms, service management software, inventory control systems, and payment processing solutions.

Milne drew a parallel to the financial services industry two decades prior. Fintech innovator Plaid successfully bridged the communication gap between bank accounts and financial applications. He aims to replicate this success, but within the automotive retail space.

Introducing AutoUnify

Milne is now the founder and CEO of AutoUnify, a new venture that has developed an API. This API facilitates real-time communication between dealerships, service shops, manufacturers, and the software providers that underpin their operations.

AutoUnify has been operating in stealth mode for nine months and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. Following pilot programs with several clients throughout 2024, the company is now expanding its sales efforts to the wider industry.

Backed by UP.Labs and Porsche

AutoUnify represents the latest startup to emerge from a long-term collaboration between UP.Labs and Porsche. The company has secured $5 million in funding, led by UP.Partners. These funds will be allocated to expanding the AutoUnify team from its current nine employees to approximately 20 by year-end.

“Our primary focus for the remainder of the year is refining the technology and building a robust sales pipeline,” Milne stated.

UP.Labs operates as a venture lab, employing a novel financial investment approach, rather than functioning as a traditional venture firm.

The UP.Labs Model

UP.Labs forges partnerships with major corporations – Porsche being the inaugural partner – and then concentrates on identifying the most pressing challenges within the industry. They subsequently create startups designed to resolve these specific pain points.

Notably, these startups are not solely intended to serve the partnering corporation, such as Porsche. To achieve success, they must demonstrate the ability to cater to the broader market.

UP.Labs has also established similar agreements with Alaska Airlines and JB Hunt.

Addressing Key Automotive Industry Challenges

According to UP.Labs CEO John Kuolt, their collaboration with Porsche has revealed some of the automotive industry’s most significant hurdles. To date, the organization has launched four startups, including Pull Systems – a software-as-a-service platform offering performance management solutions for EV suppliers, manufacturers, and operators – and Sensigo, which has created an AI platform enabling technicians to rapidly diagnose issues in modern, software-defined vehicles.

AutoUnify is their fourth venture, and Kuolt identifies it as one of the most crucial and complex problems they’ve undertaken to solve.

“This is precisely the type of groundbreaking innovation we strive for: a company that not only overcomes a technical challenge but also fundamentally transforms the way an entire industry functions,” he concluded.