Numa’s $32M AI Bet is Set to Transform Car Dealerships Across North America—Here’s How

Numa, the Oakland-based AI startup, has secured $32 million in a Series B funding round, positioning itself as a transformative force for car dealerships across North America. Led by Touring Capital and Mitsui — a Japanese conglomerate and major shareholder in auto giant Penske — the round also saw participation from Costanoa Ventures, Threshold Ventures, and Google’s AI-focused Gradient Ventures. The new capital infusion brings Numa’s total funding to $48 million and sets the stage for a new chapter in the company’s mission to modernize the automotive industry with AI-driven customer service solutions.

Numa’s journey to this point has been unconventional but strategic. Founded in 2017 by Tasso Roumeliotis, Andy Ruff, Joel Grossman, and Steven Ginn, the company initially focused on a broader AI product aimed at conversational commerce. However, the team recognized the immense potential to specialize in the automotive vertical, prompting a pivot to provide highly targeted automation tools for car dealerships.

“We were early to build AI and conversational commerce,” explained Roumeliotis, who previously co-founded Location Labs, a family-focused security company acquired by AVG for $220 million in 2014. “But we decided to focus our AI entirely on the automotive vertical after identifying enormous opportunity in that space.” The decision has paid off, with Numa now serving over 600 dealerships across the U.S. and Canada, including some of the largest retail auto dealerships in the world.

Roumeliotis and his team bring a wealth of experience to the table. Joel Grossman, Numa’s Chief Product Officer, was instrumental in shipping major Microsoft products like Windows XP, while Andy Ruff, another Microsoft veteran, led the team that created the first Outlook client for Mac. Their shared expertise in technology development and strategic execution has shaped Numa into a company that deeply understands its niche.