PartsTech Raises $35 Million to Expand B2B Automotive Parts Marketplace

PartsTech has raised $35 million to expand its B2B marketplace for the auto repair industry.

With the money raised from this Series C funding round, led by venture capital (VC) firm OpenView, the company plans to enable auto repair shops to source all the parts and tires they need through the procurement platform, PartsTech said in a Wednesday (May 18) press release.

“We founded PartsTech with a vision to create a better way for auto repair facilities to find and source parts, which is a notoriously painful and time-consuming process,” PartsTech Founder and CEO Greg Kirber said in the release. “This additional investment from OpenView will allow us to scale our team and invest more aggressively in developing solutions that power critical repair operations and keep vehicles and people moving.”

Consumers are keeping their cars longer than ever, with the average vehicle age rising to about 12 years — increasing the demand for auto parts.

To meet this demand, auto parts suppliers have been adding both technology and brick-and-mortar locations. For example, AutoZone reported in October 2022 that it has invested a record amount of capital for future growth.

In the case of PartsTech, along with expanding the range of parts offered through its B2B marketplace, the firm plans to hire additional talent and develop more technology solutions, according to the press release.

PartsTech’s B2B eCommerce marketplace connects 15,000 auto repair shops to 30,000 parts supplier locations, the release said.

“Vehicles are staying on the road longer than ever before and shops are increasingly embracing digital solutions to improve the way they work,” OpenView Partner Tim Keebler said in the release. “PartsTech drastically improves the way repair facilities operate.”

Building out a data-driven operation that puts the customer experience first as an eCommerce offering is where the auto parts industry is headed, CarParts.com CEO David Meniane told PYMNTS in an interview posted May 4.

“Every other industry out there has a higher digital penetration,” Meniane said. “If you look at apparel, if you look at electronics, if you look at pet food,” they are all heavily digital. Now, the same is being done for auto parts.