In brief: Singapore vehicle analytics startup gets pre-series A injection

Carmen Automotive, a data analytics company serving automotive insurers and servicing centers, has raised US$730,000 in pre-series A funding led by Silicon Solution Ventures (SSV) and co-invested by Seeds Capital.

Founded in 2014, Carmen’s predictive technology reads real-time data (including battery life, fault codes, fuel efficiency, and mileage) via its proprietary hardware. Continuous analytics is performed on data that is pushed to the cloud backend through bluetooth connection to the driver’s smartphone. Both the driver and the repair center is alerted to potential problems before they occur, allowing service centers to engage customers in a timely manner to prevent unexpected vehicle breakdowns.

Source: Trive

Carmen counts a variety of businesses among its customers, including insurers, car dealers, fleet operators, and vehicle-servicing channels.

The Singapore-based startup said it will use the latest funds to expand its presence in its home country, Malaysia, and Thailand.

It’s also aiming to launch new products for automotive stakeholders in the near future, with a full series A fundraising slated for sometime in 2019.

Carmen previously raised seed funding from early-stage VC firm Trive. Of the new investors to come on board, Seeds Capital is affiliated to government agency Enterprise Singapore, while SSV is a semiconductor-focused VC fund based in the city-state.

Currency converted from Singapore dollars. Rate: US$1 = S$1.37