WarrCloud — which has an automated warranty processing platform and was the winner of the NAVIcon Cup during Used Car Week 2022 — announced this week that it has raised $20 million in Series B funds.

According to a news release, WarrCloud will use the funds to further develop its artificial intelligence capabilities with a focus on bolstering automotive warranty claims automation and strengthening customer success capabilities.

The funding round was led by Centana Growth Partners, a specialized growth equity firm that invests in the evolving financial services ecosystem.

The Series B round also includes participation from return investors Argentum, a growth equity firm that helps scale B2B software, technology-enabled and business services companies, and Automotive Ventures, a VC firm focused on funding the next wave of innovation in transportation technology.

The Series B funding round follows WarrCloud’s $6.5 million Series A funding round in November.

In total, WarrCloud has raised $40 million since it was introduced to the market in 2021 by founder and CEO Jim Roche.

“WarrCloud has created a unique, powerful solution that significantly increases efficiency for automotive dealership operations,” said Eric Byunn who is partner at Centana Growth Partners. “Jim’s extensive experience in the automotive industry has equipped him with a deep understanding of opportunities to increase dealers’ profitability, significantly boost ROI, and simultaneously strengthen customer loyalty.

“The company’s ability to transform a manual service to an automated process has many parallels with processing other types of claims across the insurance landscape. Combined with the impressive customer traction WarrCloud has generated, this creates a rare market opportunity that’s an ideal match for Centana,” Byunn continued in the news release.

WarrCloud provides an innovative technology platform that leverages AI to automate warranty claims processing.

The company said this level of automation can give dealers a newfound ability to reclaim profits and reduce the reliance on a shrinking labor pool and provide manufacturers access to warranty data that can now be analyzed to improve manufacturing processes, reduce costs, and improve vehicle quality, all of which leads to increased customer satisfaction.

“We’ve generated significant interest from automotive dealers and dealer groups since creating our category and introducing the ability to automate the warranty claims process,” Roche said. “Our ability to deliver on such a unique value proposition has translated to significant support from the investment community, most notably closing this current up round in a down market.

“With the support of all our investors, we will maintain our growth trajectory and continue to invest in our hyper growth,” he continued.

Roche went on to mention the deployment of more advanced machine learning and natural language processing technologies will further enhance WarrCloud automation and will accelerate the breadth of warranty claims processing.

WarrCloud sees this strategy will further position as a pioneer of smartsourcing in the automotive industry.

The company explained smartsourcing — sometimes called intelligent outsourcing — is a strategic approach that transcends traditional outsourcing by integrating advanced technologies to enhance business operations.

Earlier this year, WarrCloud announced partnerships with FordDirect, the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association and the American International Automobile Dealers Association.

The next NAVIcon Cup winner will be determined during Used Car Week, which begins on Nov. 18 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The startups set to compete for prestige and seed money are Chaiz, QoreAI, SalesAssist, Go Eve and EVident Battery.