APAC Dealbook: Alliance backs Tekion; Motorist.sg snags funds

The corporate venture capital fund of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has backed automotive retail platform Tekion while Singapore’s auto concierge platform Motorist.sg secures seed funding.

Alliance Ventures backs platform for automotive retail Tekion

Alliance Ventures, the corporate venture capital fund of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, has announced an investment in Tekion, a US-based platform for automotive retail, according to an official release.

Tekion is a cloud platform that offers automotive retail technology that seeks to disrupt the status quo.

The investment follows nine other direct investments in 2018, in startups based in North America, Europe, Middle-East and China, to allow Alliance Ventures to contribute to the future of mobility.

Financial terms of the Tekion investment were not disclosed.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance represents the world’s largest automotive alliance with combined sales of 10.6 million vehicles in about 200 countries in 2017.

Recently, Alliance Ventures has invested in the latest funding round for California-based Enevate Corporation, a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology company.

Earlier, it also led a $5-million Series A financing round in US mobility data platform Coord. The round was also joined by Trucks, Urban.Us, DB Ventures and Joshua Schachter.

Motorist.sg secures seed funding from angel investors

Singapore’s auto concierge platform Motorist.sg announced that it has secured an undisclosed sum in seed funding from JobsCentral’s co-founders Der Shing Lim and Shao-Ning Huang, as well as Zopim’s co-founder Royston Tay.

Motorist.sg is one of the fastest growing automotive startups in Singapore. To date, the company has transacted more than 9,200 vehicles worth over $176 million.

The company, which has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, will use the funds to expand its business to Thailand in 2019.

The founder also said that the company intends to have another round of fund-raising in mid-2019. “We will also be pushing out a nationwide campaign in February to promote the official launch of our new app,” he added.

Also Read:

Alliance Ventures invests in Li-ion battery tech firm Enevate

Alliance Ventures invests in Canadian mobility app Transit

Alliance Ventures leads Series A round in China’s self-driving startup WeRide.ai 

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