KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vehlo, a leading provider of software and financial solutions for the automotive repair industry, announced today a majority investment from Greater Sum Ventures (“GSV”), an entrepreneurial family office. GSV is joined by existing investors PSG, HarbourVest Partners, and Parkwood, and new investor Lightyear Capital (“Lightyear”). Financial terms were not disclosed.
Vehlo aims to empower automotive service providers with the tools they need to deliver an excellent customer experience and run a profitable business. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio of cloud‐based software to over 19,000 rooftops, facilitating and automating the key tasks of marketing, scheduling, customer communications, and digital vehicle inspections. Vehlo also offers fintech solutions to support the financial operations of shop owners, including payments, small business loans and repair financing.
“Over the last several years, our partnership with GSV and PSG has enabled us to execute on our goal to bring a unified suite of software and financial solutions to the rapidly evolving auto repair industry, supporting our customer’s journey to exceed the expectations of today’s car owner,” said Michelle Fischer, CEO of Vehlo. “We look forward to continuing to work with GSV, PSG, HarbourVest and Parkwood, as well as our new partner Lightyear, as we provide our customers with the technology solutions they need to successfully manage and grow their businesses.”
Since Vehlo was established in 2019, the company has completed fourteen acquisitions to expand its suite of capabilities. This new round of financing aims to further support Vehlo’s expansion, particularly through product innovations, customer success iniatives and additional acquisitions across the automotive aftermarket and dealership service lanes.
“This is a milestone moment for GSV as we lead this group of notable investors and a standout Vehlo leadership team into the platform’s next chapter,” said Ross Croley, Founder and CEO of Greater Sum Ventures. “As the automotive sector continues to evolve, Vehlo aims to be the leader in technology solutions serving the industry’s repair professionals.”
“Michelle and the Vehlo team have done an incredible job scaling Vehlo’s offering to support all aspects of the auto repair business as the industry continues to rapidly adopt digital tools to modernize operations,” said Peter Wilde, Co-Founder and Chairman of PSG. “We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Vehlo to support the team as they expand their lineup of solutions.”
“The large U.S. auto repair market, with 158,000 service locations, continues to increase its adoption of software and embedded fintech solutions to enhance customer experience, operations and service revenue. We look forward to supporting the team at Vehlo in its new chapter of growth,” said Michal Petrzela, Managing Director of Lightyear Capital.
GSV was represented by Willkie Farr & Gallagher, and PSG was represented by Weil Gotshal, while Davis Polk represented Lightyear. Raymond James served as exclusive financial advisor to Vehlo.
About Vehlo
Vehlo is a leading provider of software and financial solutions for the automotive repair industry. Its product suite consists of everything the modern auto service provider needs to deliver an excellent customer experience and run a profitable business. Vehlo offers shop management and digital vehicle inspection tools for aftermarket auto repair shops, as well as dealer service lane solutions designed to improve efficiency. The company’s fintech solutions power payments, small business loans, and repair financing, allowing Vehlo to support repair operations at every touchpoint of the customer journey. To learn more, visit Vehlo.com.
About Greater Sum Ventures
Greater Sum Ventures (GSV) is an entrepreneurial family office that invests its own capital in middle market software and tech-enabled services companies. With entrepreneurial roots and proven operational and investing experience, GSV works with select independent co-investing partners to build platforms of technology companies that revolutionize the industries they serve. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, GSV provides access to capital and operational support to midmarket technology firms all over the world. To learn more, visit GreaterSumVentures.com.
About PSG
PSG is a growth equity firm that partners with software and technology-enabled services companies to help them navigate transformational growth, capitalize on strategic opportunities and build strong teams. Having backed more than 100 companies and facilitated over 400 add-on acquisitions, PSG brings extensive investment experience, deep expertise in software and technology, and a firm commitment to collaborating with management teams. Founded in 2014, PSG operates out of offices in Boston, Kansas City, London, Paris, Madrid and Tel-Aviv. To learn more about PSG, visit www.psgequity.com.
About Lightyear Capital LLC
Founded in 2000, Lightyear is a financial services-focused private equity firm based in New York. Through its affiliated private equity funds, Lightyear makes primarily control investments in North America-based, middle-market companies associated with financial services, including asset management and wealth management, banks and brokerage, commercial and consumer finance, financial technology, healthcare financial services, insurance, and tech-enabled business services. Lightyear brings focus and discipline to its investment process, as well as operating, transaction, and strategic management experience, along with significant contacts and resources beyond capital. For more information, please visit www.lycap.com.
