Beepi Inc., an online used-vehicle marketplace, has merged with Fair.com, an upcoming mobile car-buying platform founded by former TrueCar CEO Scott Painter and two other industry veterans.
The merger, first reported by TechCrunch on Wednesday and confirmed by two sources to Automotive News, cuts the Los Altos, Calif.-based startup’s staff by 180, transferring the 80 remaining employees and Beepi CEO Ale Resnik to Fair.
Beepi, launched in 2014, operates primarily in California, Texas, Arizona, New York City and Washington, D.C. Owners can sell their vehicles to Beepi for a mutually agreed upon price. The company verifies the condition of the cars and refurbishes them, then lists them on its mobile platform. Buyers cannot drive the vehicle until it is purchased, but Beepi guarantees a 10-day money-back return policy. Before the merger, Beepi had raised nearly $150 million in funding, $70 million of which came from Chinese automaker SAIC Motor Corp.
Fair was founded by Painter along with Fedor Artiles and Georg Bauer, who both have worked for Tesla Motors Inc.’s financial services in Europe. The company, which has yet to formally launch, has been secretive about its services, but its site advertises a personalized mobile car-shopping experience.
Online used-car marketplaces have proliferated in recent years. Startups such as Vroom, Shift and Carvana have taken aim at the traditional used-car dealership model with faster, mobile solutions to buying and selling vehicles.
