New $250M funding to fuel Tekion expansion

Dealership management system startup Tekion plans to expand across the U.S. and Canada, and reach into Europe, as it builds up its team and technology products after landing new funding.

The Pleasanton, Calif.-based company last week said it raised $250 million in its latest funding round, bringing Tekion's valuation to $3.5 billion. The startup is adding offices with a focus on customer support and product development, and it plans to double its global work force of roughly 1,350 employees within 18 to 24 months, CEO Jay Vijayan told Automotive News. About 400 employees are based in the U.S., with the rest in India.

"It's an opportunity for us to invest additional funds to hire and accelerate growth and rollout across the country and globally," he said.

The company plans to focus first on growing its reach in the U.S. and Canada but eyes expansion into Europe in 2022; potential locations include France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Tekion provides a cloud-native DMS platform, Automotive Retail Cloud. Vijayan has said Tekion aims to disrupt the established DMS market and provide a seamless experience for dealerships and their customers within a single platform.

With the additional funding, Tekion is adding a customer experience center to its California headquarters at which dealers can see demonstrations of the company's products, Vijayan said. Tekion also created product innovation centers at its headquarters and at an office in Austin, Texas.

The company also will operate a customer support center in West Chester, Ohio, Vijayan said.

Tekion says it is integrated with 31 brands, including those of General Motors, Stellantis and Toyota. Hyundai Motor Co. invested in Tekion's latest funding round, following earlier investments by GM, BMW i Ventures and Alliance Ventures, which is run by Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi.

Vijayan declined to share Tekion's current number of dealership customers. It is active in 39 states, he said.