Flai Raises $27M Series A; AI Dealership Software Books 50,000 Monthly Appointments

Flai, a startup selling AI-powered customer relationship software to car dealerships, said Tuesday it raised a $27 million Series A led by Base10 Partners. The round included dealer groups Friedkin Group and Findlay Automotive, Toyota's venture arm, Y Combinator and First Round Capital. The company said its AI answers calls, runs outbound campaigns and schedules 50,000 appointments per month across sales and service, driving a 20-fold revenue increase. CEO Ari Polakof told TechCrunch that referrals generate half of revenue; deployments go live roughly 10 days after contract signing. Flai works with more than 10 of the top 50 U.S. dealer groups and has about 40 employees. The startup positions its vertically tailored platform against general-purpose tools such as Meta's Muse, which targets small businesses.