AutoAce

What do they actually do

AutoAce provides a voice-first AI assistant that answers dealership phone calls 24/7, understands why the customer is calling (service, test drive, parts), collects required details, checks availability in the dealer’s scheduler/DMS, books or reschedules appointments, and hands calls to a human when needed. It writes appointments and customer details back into the dealer’s DMS/CRM, sends confirmations/reminders, and gives staff transcripts and analytics in a dashboard. The system can also run outbound campaigns such as recalls, service reminders, and status updates to reduce repeat inbound calls company site YC profile.

The product is live with early dealerships (the team has shared an onboarding of a Massachusetts Toyota store) and offers integrations with dealer systems, including a listing on CDK Global’s Fortellis marketplace. The company states it supports 20+ languages and configurable human handoff/customization company site LinkedIn. They aim to expand from call handling toward a broader “AI-native operating system” that connects service, sales, parts, and F&I workflows YC profile.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Service advisors / service-department staff: They field repetitive booking/rescheduling and status calls and re-enter appointment/RO details into multiple systems, pulling time away from higher-value shop work and creating error risk company site YC profile.
• BDC / phone‑team agents: They manage high call volume and need 24/7 coverage; missed calls, long holds, or complex requests that require transfers lead to lost leads and poor customer experience company site YC profile.
• Back‑office / repair‑order administrators: They duplicate data entry across DMS/CRM and manually piece together transcripts, confirmations, and status updates, causing delays and mistakes company site.
• Parts‑desk staff: Frequent phone inquiries require manual inventory checks and ordering, leading to long hold times and lost sales opportunities YC profile company site.
• Dealer or fixed‑operations managers: They lack real-time visibility and consistent automation across service, sales, and parts, making it hard to reduce labor costs, scale processes, and justify broader rollouts without clear ROI YC profile.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run founder‑led, local pilots using the demo/test line to quickly install, tune integrations, and capture measured time‑saved and booking metrics for case studies (starting with the Massachusetts dealership pilot) company site LinkedIn.
• First 50: Expand regionally via DMS marketplace presence and referrals (e.g., CDK/Fortellis), targeted outreach to dealer groups and associations, and convert pilots to paid using early case studies and referral discounts LinkedIn YC profile.
• First 100: Shift to a small sales + CS team and channel partners (OEM programs, dealer groups, BDC outsourcers), productize integrations and a one‑day onboarding playbook, and use outbound use cases (recalls/reminders/status) as standardized ROI proofs for group‑wide rollouts YC profile company site.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

There are about 16,957 U.S. franchised light‑vehicle dealerships. In 2024, these dealers processed ~270 million repair orders and generated about $156B in service & parts sales— the operational footprint this product targets NADA. Dealer software spend relevant to AutoAce spans DMS/CRM/BDC and call‑center AI, a pool measured in the low billions annually in the U.S. today MarksPark Solutions Fortune Business Insights Grand View Research.

Bottom-up calculation:

Illustrative ARR scenarios using the ~16,957 dealership count: at $2,000 ARR/store (limited BDC/voice scope) ≈ $34M; at $10,000 ARR/store (service+BDC+parts) ≈ $170M; at $50,000 ARR/store (multi‑department “OS”) ≈ $848M per year NADA.

Assumptions:

• Focus is U.S. franchised dealerships only; excludes independents and international stores.
• ARR per store varies with deployment depth (single function vs. multi‑department OS).
• Counts assume one contract per rooftop; multi‑store groups counted per location.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Podium: Broad customer‑communication platform with an AI-enabled phone and messaging product for auto dealers (call summaries, auto texts, AI BDC). Overlaps on answering inbound calls and capturing appointments but spans reviews, payments, and multi‑channel inbox beyond voice Podium.
• CarNow: Dealership digital retailing and messaging vendor with conversational/AI tools for 24/7 responses and scheduling. Overlaps on booking/rescheduling but is positioned as part of a wider digital‑sales stack (chat, texting, showroom) rather than a voice‑first fixed‑ops OS CarNow.
• Matador.ai: Automotive‑focused conversational AI offering fully automated sales/service conversations, inbound‑call automation, and dealer CRM integrations—direct overlap with automated call answering and appointment booking Matador.
• Numa: Markets AI agents for dealerships that answer calls, detect intent, and book service appointments with dealer‑system integrations—close feature match on service‑drive automation and call‑to‑RO workflows Numa.
• Car Wars (Cari Phone Assist): Long‑standing dealership telephony provider with an AI scheduler/receptionist product. Competes on improving phone operations and booking; brings call‑tracking/telecom heritage and human+AI workflows Car Wars.