DALLAS -

Tricolor has operated its vehicle retail and financing enterprise focused on the Hispanic market for the past 14 years in California and Texas.

Now with financial resources from one of the most notable investment firms in the country, Tricolor has its sights set on expanding nationwide.

On Thursday, Tricolor announced a $90 million convertible preferred equity investment from funds managed by BlackRock, which converts to a minority stake.

Executives said the new capital will be used to rapidly expand its mission-driven approach powered by artificial intelligence to the purchase and financing of high quality, affordable used vehicles for credit invisible Hispanics nationwide.

In addition, the company said the infusion of funds will help scale its recently launched software-as-a-service (SaaS) business unit, Tricolor Financial.

Tricolor reiterated that it uses artificial intelligence, nearly 14 years of proprietary customer insights and more than 22 million unique non-traditional credit attributes to provide financing for these low-income, credit invisible Hispanics.

To date, Tricolor — a U.S. Department of the Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) — has booked more than $1.5 billion in contracts.

“For decades, the deck has been stacked against low income or credit invisible Hispanics in the United States when it comes to the purchase and financing of a used vehicle,” Tricolor founder and chief executive officer Daniel Chu said in the news release.

“We’ve proven that our technology and teams can reverse this dynamic, helping people gain access to reliable, affordable transportation, Now, with this investment and the support of the BlackRock Funds, we can grow to help even more people improve their lives,” continued Chu, who added that while primarily located in Texas and California, Tricolor is planning rollouts into new states over the coming months.

Additionally, the company recently tapped veteran industry leader Stephanie Hanson to grow its Tricolor Financial business within the used-vehicle sector and into adjacent industries.

By using this investment to help fuel the growth of its SaaS offering, Tricolor said it can help other retailers and service providers more effectively meet the needs of low-income, credit invisible Hispanics in the United States.

Tricolor pointed out that according to the FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked Households, 31% of the U.S. Hispanic population has no or limited access to mainstream credit.

For more information about Tricolor, visit tricolor.com and tricolorholdings.com.