Partly, a New Zealand company that builds AI for identifying auto parts, raised a $50 million Series B led by DST Global Partners, It will use the funding to open a US base in Austin. The round values the company at $500 million.
The company is tackling a common supply chain problem. Repair shops need to identify the exact part that fits a specific vehicle. Get it wrong and the shop eats returns, delays and reorders.
Partly believes software can solve that problem, much like warehouse and transportation systems have improved over time. That is why parts distributors and the firms sourcing on their behalf have a stake in whether it works.
The round:
The Series B brings Partly’s total funding to about $92.4 million. Its valuation is about 2.8 times higher than its late 2022 Series A, which valued the company at NZ$37 million, or about US$21 million
The company has about 160 employees across more than 20 countries
It is moving its leadership team, including CEO Levi Fawcett, to the US to sell into the roughly 250,000 American repair shops
What it sells: Partly’s AI model, Interpreter, identifies parts, checks fitment, and helps source components for the $100 billion US collision repair market.
The company says it processes orders nine times faster and cuts returns by more than half. The figures have not been independently verified.
The catch: Partly says it is bringing AI to a market that has not fully adopted it. But incumbents like CCC, Mitchell, Solera’s Audatex and Tractable already sell AI tools to the same shops and insurers. Partly’s argues that none of them built a dedicated parts fitment layer.
What's next: Partly is one of several startups raising large funding rounds to build AI around complex industrial datasets. Others include logistics firm Loop and construction startup Rebar. The key question is whether Partly’s model gets embedded where parts are actually bought and sold.
