Car protection plan marketplace startup lands $3.7M in seed funding
Chaiz, an Austin, Texas-based startup that provides a comparison marketplace for extended car warranties, announced an oversubscribed $3.7 million seed funding round on Wednesday.
Leading the round is ResilienceVC, with participation from Anker Capital, Automotive Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, FJ Labs, Monte Carlo Capital, Never Lift Ventures, RedBlue Capital, and Springtime Ventures.
Chaiz’s prior investors include Everywhere VC, InsurTechNY, The Calm Fund, and Project One Auto.
Chaiz plans to use the funding for continued innovation in breakdown protection and expand its coverage into areas like RV, motorsports and home appliances.
Its mission centers on, “bringing transparency, choice, and digitization to the extended car warranty market,” Chaiz said in a news release.
The company was founded by Ryan Hartman, Philippe Koenig and Reto Bolliger.
“We believe everyone should have breakdown protection for their car after their factory warranty expires,” said Hartman, who is the company’s chief marketing officer, in a news release.
“Historically, this product has been marketed unethically with unnecessarily high prices. We’ve changed that,” Hartman said. “Using Chaiz, users can get transparent prices, research several providers, and buy online hassle-free once they find the perfect plan for their vehicle and budget.”
Tahira Dosani, managing partner at ResilienceVC, said in the release: “ResilienceVC backs high-growth businesses that build financial resilience for American consumers; Chaiz helps customers effectively better understand options and coverages, compare offerings, and purchase vehicle warranties at more affordable prices.
This means a lower cost for vehicle repairs and income smoothing for the majority of Americans who can’t afford an unexpected car repair expense,” Dosani said. “Chaiz’s customer-centric approach, strong distribution partnerships, and product innovation position it for significant growth and impact, and we are excited to lead their seed round and join them on this journey.”
Hartman and Bolliger, two of the Chaiz co-founders, joined the Auto Remarketing Podcast on Tuesday to discuss the genesis of the company, how its business model works and how it distinguishes itself from other services in the vehicle protection space, while also sharing the role dealers could play.
The full conversation can be found below.