San Francisco online vehicle financier AutoFi has raised $10m in Series A funding from investors Crosslink Capital, Ford Motor Credit Company and Lerer Hippeau Ventures. AutoFi makes a white-label technology platform that allows car dealers to offer faster, online financing to customers.
The company plans to use the funding to support its roll-out at these dealerships, in addition to signing up new manufacturers and lenders. It's also expanding into Canada. "Consumers consistently rank the financing process as the worst part of the car-buying experience," says AutoFi CEO Kevin Singerman. "We're creating a much more transparent process that's driven by the consumer." With AutoFi's technology, a consumer can browse financing options from a network of lenders online and apply for a loan on a car dealer's website or mobile app if they're already in the showroom. They will be given a financing decision in minutes. That's opposed to sitting at a car dealership filling out paperwork for several hours on a weekend, says Singerman.