By Titik Puspa 
In the rapidly evolving landscape of automotive retail, a new contender, Ever, has emerged with a bold vision to redefine the experience of buying and selling used electric vehicles (EVs). The company announced a significant milestone today: a $31 million Series A funding round, spearheaded by Eclipse, with co-investments from Ibex Investors, Lifeline Ventures, and JIMCO, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s Jameel family, known for its early backing of EV giant Rivian. This substantial investment signals strong market confidence in Ever’s "AI-native, full-stack auto retail business" model, which has already garnered thousands of customers navigating the complexities of the pre-owned EV market.
The impetus for Ever’s creation stems from a fundamental question: what is the most efficient and user-friendly first step for individuals looking to engage in the used EV market, either as buyers or sellers? For years, the automotive industry has been gradually digitizing, with pioneers like Carvana and Carmax paving the way for online car purchases. More recently, numerous startups have sought to inject artificial intelligence into the car-buying journey, proposing innovations ranging from sophisticated voice agents to enhanced scheduling software. However, Jiten Behl of Eclipse, a leading venture capital firm focused on industrial technology, argues that these "bolt-on AI tools are band-aids." He draws a parallel to the early days of EVs from established automakers, where existing combustion engine platforms were adapted for electric powertrains, often resulting in compromises. Behl champions a "clean-sheet" approach, akin to the ground-up EV designs pioneered by companies like Tesla and Rivian, believing that AI should be intrinsically woven into the fabric of automotive retail, not merely an add-on.
"Auto retail is a perfect candidate for disrupting with AI," Behl stated in an interview with TechCrunch. He elaborated on the inherent complexities of the industry, describing it as a process-heavy, labor-intensive, and largely rules-based system that is ripe for intelligent automation. Lasse-Mathias Nyberg, co-founder and CEO of Ever, echoed this sentiment, highlighting the staggering number of actions—potentially "hundreds or thousands"—that a traditional retailer must execute to complete a single car transaction. This intricate web of processes creates "massive complexities or frictions on both sides," impacting both buyers and sellers.
Driven by a desire to streamline and eliminate these inefficiencies, Nyberg and his team embarked on a year-long research initiative in 2022. Their solution is a digitally native auto retailer built around a core technological innovation: an orchestration layer, or an "operating system," designed to manage the entirety of a vehicle transaction. This sophisticated system handles everything from processing initial buyer or seller information to managing vehicle inventory, appraisals, pricing, and titling. Nyberg explained that while many of these individual steps are deterministic, meaning they follow a set procedure, most companies rely on a fragmented array of single-point solution tools. This piecemeal approach leads to inefficient integration and a perceived, rather than actual, digital transformation. Ever’s vision is to "clean-sheet" the entire process, leveraging "agentic AI" to create a unified customer experience and eradicate these "micro-frictions."
The strategic advantage of this AI-native architecture, according to Nyberg, is a significant boost in operational efficiency. He claims that Ever’s sales team is already two to three times more productive than their counterparts in traditional dealerships, a metric he expects to improve as the company scales. This heightened efficiency directly translates into enhanced profit margins, which can either be reinvested in the business or passed on to customers in the form of more competitive pricing.
Ever’s innovative approach extends beyond its digital marketplace to encompass physical locations, embracing a hybrid model. Nyberg recognizes that despite the advancements in online car shopping, the tangible experience of seeing, touching, and test-driving a vehicle remains paramount for many consumers, particularly those new to the EV segment. This blended strategy aims to bridge the gap between digital convenience and the essential human element of car purchasing.
While the company’s operational model shows promise, early user feedback on Ever’s platform has been varied. A Reddit thread from last year revealed a spectrum of opinions, with some users praising Ever’s efforts to simplify EV acquisition, while others recounted difficulties in connecting with the startup’s customer support. Nyberg attributes these initial challenges to the company’s nascent stage and its period of operation in stealth mode, viewing them as valuable learning experiences. He emphasized that his team is actively working to ensure the platform’s adaptability and robustness to meet all its ambitious objectives.
Beyond operational hurdles, Ever also faces the broader challenge of a recent cooling in consumer interest in EVs in the United States. While Nyberg has not entirely ruled out the possibility of incorporating used internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles into Ever’s offerings in the future, the company’s immediate focus remains squarely on EVs. This strategic decision is driven by the perceived gap in the market for a dedicated retailer laser-focused on the pre-owned electric vehicle segment.
Jiten Behl, with his extensive background at Rivian, expressed a personal affinity for the EV revolution, admitting to being a "hopeless romantic when it comes to EVs." He remains convinced that the automotive industry’s trajectory is undeniably towards electric propulsion due to its inherent environmental and performance advantages. His initial due diligence on Ever led him to a singular thought: "I wish Rivian was doing this." This sentiment underscores the perceived potential of Ever’s model within the burgeoning EV ecosystem.
Looking at the broader market context, Behl pointed out that even established disruptors like Carvana hold single-digit market share in the overall automotive retail landscape. This statistic highlights the immense untapped potential for companies like Ever to capture significant market share by offering a superior customer experience. "Customers are going to continue to gravitate towards better experience when it comes to buying cars, which means it is going to be a digitally-led customer experience which takes away all the friction of buying and selling a car," Behl concluded. This belief in the power of seamless, friction-free digital transactions forms the bedrock of Ever’s ambitious strategy.
The $31 million Series A funding will undoubtedly fuel Ever’s expansion, enabling it to refine its AI infrastructure, scale its operational capabilities, and further enhance its customer-facing platforms. As the used EV market matures and consumer adoption continues to grow, companies like Ever, with their innovative, technology-driven approaches, are poised to play a pivotal role in shaping its future. The investment from prominent firms like Eclipse and the backing of influential entities like JIMCO suggest that the market is ready for a more intelligent, efficient, and customer-centric approach to automotive retail, particularly within the exciting and rapidly expanding realm of electric vehicles. Ever’s journey from a nascent startup to a well-funded contender signifies a significant step towards realizing that vision.