As customer expectations evolve, automotive retailers are navigating a period of significant operational change. While the global Dealer Management System (DMS) market is expected to exceed $18.7 billion by 2034, many dealership processes were designed for a very different era of customer interaction. Voice communication remains the preferred channel for service customers across demographics, yet handling this volume efficiently at scale remains a challenge for the industry. For dealerships across the U.S., this shift presents an opportunity to modernize service operations in ways that strengthen customer relationships and unlock new value.
That is why Toyota Ventures is excited to announce our investment in Flai, a company tackling this challenge with a custom-built voice orchestration layer. While many newcomers merely wrap existing AI tools in a thin interface, Flai built its core infrastructure from the ground up. This architectural independence grants them the deep technical control necessary to capture every lead and slash operational costs — offering precision and reliability that off-the-shelf solutions cannot match.
“The automotive retail landscape is undergoing a massive transformation, and Flai is at the forefront of how dealerships are operating in an AI-first world. Flai’s power to turn complex customer interactions into seamless, high-ROI outcomes is a game-changer. We are thrilled to support the team as they scale to become the intelligent communication layer for the modern dealership.”
— Jim Adler, Founder and General Partner, Toyota Ventures
Founded in 2025, the San Francisco-based company is led by co-founders Ari Polakof (CEO) and Alen Polakof (CTO), who bring deep expertise from Georgia Tech and their tenure as founding engineers at a16z-backed HappyRobot. They are joined by COO Juan Alzugaray, a Dartmouth engineering management alum who previously worked at Netflix. This trio spent months embedded in nearly 400 dealership locations, training their models amid the noise of real-world service drives to bridge the gap between complex AI infrastructure and practical dealership needs.
In just the past three months, Flai’s usage has grown over 20 times, and the platform now handles thousands of calls daily. A compelling ROI underpins this traction: Flai typically generates over $30,000 in monthly profit per location, with top-performing dealers seeing returns as high as 40 times. What began as a point solution for after-hours calls has evolved into a comprehensive platform that handles both inbound inquiries and proactive outbound orchestration, such as automated recall management and service bay optimization.
Unlike legacy systems that act as passive record-keepers, this next-generation platform will unify fragmented data and automate high-friction workflows in real-time. It marks a transition toward a digital-first era where efficiency and customer experience drive mutual profitability for the entire dealership ecosystem.
Toyota Ventures is proud to participate in Flai’s extended $6 million seed round. Jim Adler, founder and general partner, led the investment with support from senior analyst Laura Bocek. To learn more, visit Flai’s website or the Toyota Ventures portfolio page.
The AI-Native Dealership: Our Investment in Flai was originally published in Toyota Ventures on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.