Israeli startup Engie, which has developed an app for streamlining the rather unpleasant process of taking a car to the garage, has raised $3.5 million in an Series A financing round. The best-known angel investor in the company, who was actually the first to invest in it, is Waze cofounder and former president Uri Levine. "Engie's solution takes the power away from the garage and gives it to the drivers. It enables every driver to go to the garage with knowledge, power, and confidence, from identifying and diagnosing malfunctions, getting regular information about the state of the vehicle, and comparing prices between nearby garages," the company announcement said.
Since the app was launched, more than 200 garages around Israel have joined it, and it has almost 100,000 users in the country. The funds raised will help Engie expand overseas
The system is connected to the vehicle though a Bluetooth component that communicates with the vehicle's computer. As soon as the connection is made, Engie monitors the state of the car, identifies malfunctions, diagnoses them, and gives the driver price offers from nearby garages. In addition, it keeps track of the vehicle's state, warns of imminent service needs, informs the driver if the battery is running down, provides information about fuel consumption, etc. The Bluetooth component can be connected to almost any vehicle manufactured in 2002 or later, and the connection can be done independently. The component costs NIS 55, and can be purchased through the app or at the Auto Depot store chain. According to Engie cofounder and CEO Yarden Gross, "The response of the Israeli market to the launch was amazing, because we are solving a real problem here for drivers involving vehicle service and maintenance."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 26, 2016
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2016