SANTA MONICA, Calif. (December 12, 2013) – TrueCar.com, the negotiation-free car-buying platform, today announced that it raised $30 million of funding from Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital. TrueCar.com intends to use the funds to fuel market expansion, invest in product development and further build the TrueCar.com brand. This investment was made from Vulcan’s new Silicon Valley based growth equity fund. The fund is focused on investing in the world’s brightest ideas and in internet and technology companies that are making a transformational change -- in the way that TrueCar.com is bringing transparency to the car buying process. Mr. Agrawal, who heads all growth equity investments for Vulcan Capital will be joining the TrueCar.com Board of Directors. Current investors in TrueCar.com include Upfront Ventures, Jeff Skoll’s Capricorn Investment Group, USAA, and Allen & Company.
TrueCar.com empowers car buyers by giving them transparent insight into what others actually paid, upfront pricing information, a guaranteed savings certificate and a connection to a trusted TrueCar Certified Dealer to seamlessly complete the car purchase. Over the past year, the TrueCar.com experience has enabled TrueCar.com users to save, on average, over $3,000 off of MSRP. TrueCar.com users and its Certified Dealers have completed over 1 million automobile transactions since inception, and nearly 400,000 this year alone. Additionally, TrueCar.com works with nearly 7,000 new car franchises and independent dealers operating in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Last month, TrueCar.com users accounted for approximately 2.3% of all new car sales in the US.
“The Vulcan Capital investment supports TrueCar.com’s mission to bring truth and transparency to automotive retail and provides us with the capital necessary to grow the business and develop better products for consumers and dealers,” said Scott Painter, Founder and CEO at TrueCar.com.
The automotive sector is one of the largest in the U.S. economy, and according to industry sources, Americans are expected to buy approximately 15.6 million cars this year at a total transaction value of roughly $500 billion. TrueCar.com’s nationwide network of TrueCar Certified Dealers are unique within the retail automotive industry because they are willing to provide upfront pricing information and guaranteed savings, where available, as a way of establishing trust with today’s car buyers.
“We believe TrueCar.com’s negotiation-free car buying platform has demonstrated significant traction in changing the way consumers behave in one of the largest segments of the economy,” said Abhishek Agrawal, Managing Director at Vulcan Capital. “Moreover, this remarkable business model has delivered huge value and significant savings to consumers.”
For more information about TrueCar.com, please visit www.TrueCar.com, follow @TrueCar on Twitter, or become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook and Google+.
About TrueCar.com
TrueCar.com is the negotiation-free car buying platform. TrueCar.com empowers car buyers by giving them transparent insight into what others actually paid, upfront pricing info, a guaranteed savings certificate and a connection to a trusted TrueCar Certified Dealer to seamlessly complete the car purchase. The reality is buying a car is painful and buyers fear they are going to overpay. TrueCar.com’s transparent upfront pricing information and guaranteed savings certificate makes the car buying process simple so buyers never overpay. TrueCar.com’s mission is to prove that truth and transparency are a more profitable way of doing business -- starting with cars. TrueCar.com users and its Certified Dealers have completed over 1 million automobile transactions since inception, and nearly 400,000 this year alone. Its national network of nearly 7,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers is committed to providing negotiation-free pricing for some of the country’s largest membership and service organizations, including AARP, American Express, AAA, USAA and Consumer Reports. Note: Not all program features are available in all states. Go to www.truecar.com for program details. TrueCar.com is a privately held company headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas.
About Vulcan Capital
Vulcan Capital is the multi-billion dollar investment arm of Vulcan Inc., the company founded by Paul G. Allen to manage his philanthropic and business endeavors. The firm invests across all stages of corporate development including venture capital, growth equity and leveraged buyouts as well as investing in public equities and other liquid asset classes. Vulcan Capital's current portfolio spans a range of industry sectors, including technology, internet, mobile, life sciences, energy and natural resources, media and communications, and financial and information services. This investment was made from Vulcan’s new Silicon Valley based growth equity fund which is focused on making investments ranging from $10-$100 million into leading internet and technology companies, including mid- to late-stage venture capital, recaps, growth buyouts and strategic public market block investments. For more information, visit capital.vulcan.com
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