Automotive Ventures announced Monday that it has added Wholesale Auto Supply Co., Inc. as a strategic investor.

WASCO, based in Hackensack, N.J., is a purchasing cooperative owned by dealers in the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut) and provides a resource for dealers to buy business supplies, including chemical/janitorial/office supplies, heavy equipment, OEM-compliant furniture and more.

WASCO joining as a strategic investor helps expand Automotive Ventures’ DealerFund, which is designed to help dealerships “navigate through the next decade of unprecedented change, invest into and participate financially in the autotech startups they help to grow,” as detailed in this Auto Remarketing story.

“Automotive Ventures is committed to supercharging the dealer community through the next wave of industry transformation,” Automotive Ventures founder and chief executive officer Steve Greenfield said in a news release.

“And today, I’m honored to add Wholesale Auto Supply Company to a growing list of strategic investors to our first of its kind fund family,” Greenfield said.

The first close announcement of the DealerFund came this spring. The company also expanded its leadership team, adding added three industry veterans to sustain the DealerFund as well as the others in its portfolio.

Andrew Gordon, Adam Lafferty and Brian Reed now are all part of Automotive Ventures’ leadership team, serving in a variety of development and operational capacities.