• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Tech

Online Car Startup Vroom Raises $95 Million And Buys A Competitor

By
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
December 16, 2015, 8:02 AM ET

Online used car sales startup Vroom has raised $95 million in equity and is using some of those funds to acquire Texas Auto Direct, a competitor known for developing software that significantly reduces the time it takes to process and recondition used vehicles.

Vroom didn’t disclose the acquisition price.

Vroom’s success hinges largely on speed. Unlike other online car retailers that create a marketplace for people to sell cars to each other, Vroom handles the entire transaction. The company takes possession of the used car from the seller, reconditions it and then delivers it to the buyer’s door.

One of it’s primary goals is to ship cars to customers throughout the U.S. within 48 hours of purchase. Those cars, however, have to be in tiptop condition since Vroom also provides a seven-day money back guarantee, has a no-questions-asked return policy, and a 90-day bumper-to-bumper warranty.

The New York-based startup has managed to speed up delivery times by hiring staff and expanding its footprint. The company now has two facilities in Dallas and Houston—where cars are reconditioned and warehoused before they’re sold. Vroom is also opening a new 500,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis in early 2016.

However, the process of reconditioning the cars it buys from consumers has remained a challenge.

Vroom CEO Allon Bloch told Fortune that Texas Auto Direct, or TDA, has developed software to turn this highly complicated task—some cars have as much as $1,000 of work put into them before resale—into an efficient, fast process.

“The faster you can get the car in shape, the faster you can sell it, and deliver it to customers,” Bloch says. “And you need to do it without cutting corners because otherwise the customer will end up sending the car back.

“Texas Direct has developed a workflow that allows you to efficiently route these cars. I don’t think there’s anyone even close in capability of the reconditioning software and services they’ve built.”

 

TDA’s software will shave two to three days off the process, says Bloch, who estimates that about 100 cars are reconditioned each day between the two companies. Houston-based TDA was founded in 2002 by Mike Welch and Richard Williams, two tech entrepreneurs who previously started software company Medianet together.

If the deal is approved by regulators, the two brands will co-exist at Vroom’s New York headquarters and operate separately online. Once combined, the company will have 500 employees.

The remaining funds from this latest venture round will be used to accelerate growth and expedite delivery, according to Vroom. The company wants to buy more trucks to ship cars. It also plans to open several more reconditioning facilities to better serve customers on the two coasts.

In terms of sales and software expertise, TDA is the leader. The company says it has more than $500 million in annual sales. Meanwhile, Vroom hopes to crack $300 million in sales this year. But Vroom has some high-profile backers.

This latest equity round brings Vroom’s total venture funding to $168 million—and about $35 million in debt funding—since it launched in 2013. Vroom didn’t name the investors in the Series C round.

Catterton, which backed Restoration Hardware and P.F. Chang’s, led the Series B round in July. General Catalyst Partners, T.Rowe Price Associates, Jeffrey Boyd, the chairman and former CEO of The Priceline Group, and Bob Mylod, former CFO of The Priceline Group also invested in the last round. About 15 to 20 wealthy individuals, including former pro football player John Elway and former Autonation and Blockbuster CEO Steve Berrard, invested in Vroom during a Series A round of funding that raised $19 million in equity.

Vroom has a number of rivals in the online car sales space, including Beepi, Carvana, and Shift Technologies—each one putting its own spin on white-glove or concierge-style service.

Make sure to subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the business of technology.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Retail
Trump just declared Christmas Eve a national holiday. Here’s what’s open and closed
By Dave SmithDecember 24, 2025
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Financial experts warn future winner of the $1.7 billion Powerball: Don't make these common money mistakes
By Ashley LutzDecember 23, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Trump turns government into giant debt collector with threat to garnish wages on millions of Americans in default on student loans
By Annie Ma and The Associated PressDecember 24, 2025
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Obama's former top economic advisor says he feels 'a tiny bit bad' for Trump because gas prices are low, but consumer confidence is still plummeting 
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 24, 2025
9 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
The average worker would need to save for 52 years to claw their way out of the middle class and be classified as wealthy, new research reveals
By Orianna Rosa RoyleDecember 23, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
'When we got out of college, we had a job waiting for us': 80-year-old boomer says her generation left behind a different economy for her grandkids
By Mike Schneider and The Associated PressDecember 23, 2025
2 days ago

Latest in Tech

Big TechTesla
Tesla faces NHTSA probe over Model 3 emergency door handles
By Dana Hull and BloombergDecember 24, 2025
7 hours ago
Arkeem and Ashley with their 6 children.
SuccessGen Z
Meet the millennial father of six who rebuilt his life through the trades—and questions America’s obsession with college
By Eva RoytburgDecember 24, 2025
11 hours ago
Vanguard CIO Nitin Tandon.
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How investment giant Vanguard’s CIO is placing big tech bets today to create the AI digital advisor of tomorrow
By John KellDecember 24, 2025
12 hours ago
Calvin Butler, President and CEO, Exelon
EnergyUtilities
Utility CEO on the data center crunch: America’s ‘check engine light’ is on and ‘no one’s going to pay attention until it breaks down’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 24, 2025
13 hours ago
Ali Ghodsi
AIVenture Capital
CEO of a $134 billion software giant blasts companies with billions in funding but zero revenue: ‘That’s clearly a bubble, right… it’s, like, insane’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 24, 2025
13 hours ago
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
PoliticsEurope
Trump administration bars 5 prominent Europeans from the U.S., accusing them of pressuring tech firms to ‘censor’ American speech
By Beatrice NolanDecember 24, 2025
14 hours ago