Ohad and Amir Hever, co-founders of UVeye, an Israel-based developer of automated inspection systems ... [+]
UVeye, an Israeli developer of automated vehicle inspection technology for automakers, has raised $60 million in additional funding to fund its global expansions.
CarMax, W.R. Berkley Corp. and F.I.T. Ventures are among the investors in UVeye’s Series C funding round. They join previous investors that include Volvo Cars, Hyundai Motors and Toyota Tsusho.
The company, started in 2016, makes contact-free vehicle inspection stations, initially used in the security industry to detect weapons, explosives and other contraband. More recently its Atlas quality control technology has been used to conduct contact-free inspection systems used by Volvo and Toyota to detect defects in vehicles at the end of assembly lines.
“Completion of Series C funding represents a significant step forward for UVeye and our plans to expand in Europe and the United States,” said Amir Hever, UVeye’s CEO and co-founder. “We have a strong team of investors and partners to help us set up new quality standards for vehicle inspection across a broad range of industries.”
This brings UVeye’s cumulative investment to more than $90 million.
UVeye’s inspection systems use a combination of artificial intelligence, proprietary algorithms and machine learning that can detect physical and mechanical flaws, both large and small, as it passes through an inspection station.
The scanning process completes within a matter of seconds and can be used throughout a vehicle’s lifecycle.
Some automakers, such as Volvo, Toyota and Hyundai are looking at or already using the system in final inspection. But according to Yaron Saghiv, head of global communications and marketing, during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, UVeye began talking with dealerships about using the technology to assess both new and used vehicles.
Saghev said UVeye hopes to have commitments from 100 dealerships by the end of 2021. CarMax’s investment potentially opens up the growing space of online retailing too.
The privately held company does not disclose revenue or profits, but CEO Hever said on a year-to-date basis UVeye has doubled in size.
UVeye has three products: Helios, an underbody scanning system that can see frame damage and leaks in the fluid, braking and exhaust systems; Artemis, a camera-based technology that focuses on tire quality, and Atlas, which provides a 360-degree scan of the vehicle’s exterior.
Currently, UVeye employs a little more than 100 people, about 80 of which are at its research and development center in Tel Aviv. It has opened a U.S. headquarters in New York and a third location in the Cleveland suburb of Mentor, Ohio. Other offices are planned for Germany and Japan.
W.R. Berkley Corporation is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest commercial insurance firms in North America. F.I.T. Ventures is a growth-oriented investment firm based in Montreal, Canada.
Both companies are represented on UVeye’s board of directors.
A group of Israeli institutional investors also invested in UVeye. These include Epsilon Underwriting & Issuing, an Israeli investment bank, Meitav Dash Investments, Menora Mivtachim Holdings and Y.D. More Investments.
CEO Amir Hever said UVeye has manufacturing and assembly facilities in several countries including the U.S.
