Online car bidding platform The Lasso, formerly known as Revv, announced it has raised $9.8 million in early-stage funding as it prepares to expand nationwide.

The funding was split across three tranches and culminated in a seed round. Crosslink Capital and Manresa Ventures were the lead investors. Contour Venture Partners, Liquid2 Ventures, Ritual Capital, Correlation Ventures and other firms also participated.

The Lasso is designed to help car owners get top dollar for their cars by facilitating bids from local dealerships.

The company said founder and CEO Nate Mihalovich got the idea when he saw a need for a better way to sell cars after going through the process with his own car in 2019, and the need was amplified during the COVID pandemic’s high demand for used cars and shift toward online transactions.

Mihalovich launched The Lasso in 2022 to give dealers a reliable source of quality inventory and create a more convenient and trustworthy process for consumers.

“The Lasso has essentially just given a framework to something most of us already know as car owners,” Mihalovich said in a news release, “that you shouldn’t have to choose between getting a decent offer and sacrificing your weekends playing the middleman.”

In limited markets since its release, the platform has hosted more than 25,000 listings collectively worth more than $625 million, drawing the interest of investors.

“Investing in The Lasso was a no-brainer for us,” Crosslink Capital partner Gabby Contro said. “From 2019 to 2020, online transactions went from being just 2% to a whopping 19% of car sales.

“The Lasso’s initial traction is just further proof that we’re never going back to a place where we buy and sell our cars in person at a dealership by default, and their unique model has achieved that ‘Goldilocks’ balance that provides a win-win for both dealers and consumers.”

The Lasso said it plans to use the funding to expand nationwide.

“We see this as a very strong first chapter,” Mihalovich said. “Our initial traction is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team and the support of our early backers. Now as we’re looking to expand, I’m very pleased to have such a strong group of investors joining us on this next phase of our journey.”