Tekion becomes the member of unicorn club

Tekion has raised $150 million as part of its Series C financing led by private equity firm Advent International round at over $1 billion valuation, becoming a unicorn in less than four years.

Vijayan, who directly reported to Tesla chairman and CEO Elon Musk was responsible for building all digital and information technology systems ground-up during his four-year stint there. Before Tesla, Vijayan built technology platforms and solutions to help businesses scale while working in tech companies like Oracle and VMware in the US.

Jay Vijayan, CEO of Tekion, says, “Today’s consumers receive outstanding personalized retail experiences from companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Disney. Why shouldn’t they expect the same in their vehicle acquisition and service needs? We believe Tekion will be the trailblazer for enabling the modernization of the entire consumer journey and providing the best experiences and operational efficiencies, period. It’s time to even the playing field for the automotive retail industry.”

Tekion still doesn’t offer its services in India but has strong roots in the country.

Its APAC headquarters is in Bengaluru and it has a development center in Chennai, with much of its research and development work happens in the India offices.

Prior to Advent's investment, Tekion had raised $65 million in equity financing from investors.

Tekion’s $150 million funding round, apart from Advent, saw participation from Index Ventures, Exor (holding company of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ferrari), Airbus Ventures and FM Capital. Tekion’s other key investors from the Automotive industry include General Motors, BMW iVentures and Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Alliance Ventures.

Advent's funding will provide Tekion fresh capital to support additional investment in its platform and scale the company.