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Radar · Auto in Grand Rapids

Best Auto Companies in Grand Rapids, United States

The 37 best Auto companies in Grand Rapids, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: ASV Holdings.

37companies tracked
$126Mdisclosed funding
0unicorns
4have raised
FLIAR INTELLIGENCE · AUTO × GRAND RAPIDS

Our analysis of 50 Auto companies

$9.4b in tracked funding; 94% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.

50companies analysed
94%cloud-native stacks
2025funding peak (by rounds)
4unicorns
2015median founding year

Ranked: Best Auto companies in Grand Rapids

#CompanyDisclosed fundingLast roundStageFounderFoundedTech stackPatents & IP focusRecent signals
1ASV Holdings
Compact track and skid-steer loaders engineered for performance and reliability
$125M104 mo agoAcquired—1983WordPressPleskMySQL+31——
2Trailer Equipment
Provider of semi-trailer sales, rentals, service, and parts
$476K19 mo agoFunding Raised—1985WordPressApple iCloud MailMySQL+20——
3Biked
Provider of bike repair and maintenance service
$305K24 mo agoSeries A—2020Webflow EcommerceWebflowReact+18——
4Plasancarbon
Manufacturer of carbon fiber parts and assemblies for automotive OEMs
$175K171 mo agoFunding Raised—2008———
5Big Rapids Products
Metal stamping, forming, and assembly solutions for diverse industries
—37 mo agoFunding Raised—1977WordPressMySQLPHP+17—1 expansion
6Gill
Automotive tech leader delivering advanced seating and E-Systems solutions globally
—100 mo agoFunding RaisedMary Gill Thornton
CEO
1964———
7Adac Automotive
ADAC is a supplier of engineered products to the world automotive industry.
————————
8American Seating
Manufacturer of automotive seating system
——AcquiredStacey Snider1886ExpressionEnginePHPCodeIgniter+1639 patents
Movable bus seat stanchions, aisle‑locking, and debris‑preventing rail mechanisms
—

Top 6 Auto companies in Grand Rapids

#1
Funding Raised · Grand Rapids, Michigan · founded 1985 · 40 employees
$476.3Kraised
▾

Provider of semi-trailer sales, rentals, service, and parts. The business offers an inventory of new and used trailers, including dry van, flatbed, reefer, and storage trailers. It provides trailer repair and truck repair services. The business also offers a parts department for trailer maintenance.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 1k LinkedIn followers — 3.7% of this cohort's audience
Funding rounds
  • Jan 2025Grant (prize money)$476.3K
Investors
United States Department of Agriculture
Tech stack
Animate.CssApple Icloud MailBootstrapCloudflareCloudflare Bot ManagementFont Awesome
#2
Series A · Grand Rapids, Michigan · founded 2020 · 10 employees
$305Kraised
▾

Provider of bike repair and maintenance service. The company provides an application to book services. It provides pick up the delivery of the bike to the owner after the repair. It also provides users to buy, sell, and ship bikes, parts, and equipment on the platform.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 350 LinkedIn followers
Activity: 1 product launches announced in 12 mo
Funding rounds
  • Sep 2024Series A$150K
  • Jul 2023Seed$120K
  • May 2023Seed$35K
Tech stack
CloudflareCloudflare Bot ManagementElementorGodaddyGoogle WorkspaceHttp/3
#3
Acquired · Grand Rapids, Minnesota · founded 1983 · 189 employees
$125Mraised
▾

Compact track and skid-steer loaders engineered for performance and reliability. The company designs, engineers, and manufactures premium compact track loaders, skid steers, and attachments. These machines are purpose-built to lead the industry in hydraulic performance, tractive effort, undercarriage technology, reliability, serviceability, and comfort on any terrain. The company's all-terrain machines enable operators to work in more places and conditions. They serve industries like construction, forestry, landscaping, and snow removal. The company pioneered the Posi-Track compact track loader. They offer financing and extended warranty programs. The company focuses on best-in-class designs, all-season usability, and superior comfort. The company builds machines designed to excel in specific settings, with a unique purpose.

Funding rounds
  • Jan 2018Conventional Debt$50M
  • Dec 2014Conventional Debt$75M
Investors
PNC
Tech stack
AddthisAdrollAdroll Cmp SystemAmazon SesAmazon Web ServicesCloudflare
#4
Funding Raised · Grand Rapids, Michigan · founded 2008 · 118 employees
$175Kraised
▾

Manufacturer of carbon fiber parts and assemblies for automotive OEMs. The company collaborates with clients to analyze and address mass reduction challenges. It assists in material selection, optimizing carbon fiber's properties beyond weight reduction. The business provides solutions for mass reduction while managing costs through part consolidation and streamlined processes. These solutions also offer life cycle savings, including reduced warranty costs and a leaner supply chain.

Funding rounds
  • May 2012Grant (prize money)$175K
Investors
OSTI
#5
Funding Raised · Grand Rapids, Michigan · founded 1977 · 236 employees
—raised
▾

Metal stamping, forming, and assembly solutions for diverse industries. They specialize in metal stamping and assemblies, offering services from tooling design and engineering to manufacturing. Their capabilities include line, progressive, and transfer presses for various materials like stainless steel, aluminum, high strength carbon, and coated steel. They provide a wide range of products, including decorative trim, exhaust parts, structural components, and wheel claddings. They also offer welded, e-coated, painted, powder coated, and plated parts through their supply base. They serve the automotive, appliance, aerospace, and agricultural industries, focusing on continuous improvement and exceeding customer expectations.

LinkedIn Pulse recent public activity · Jul 2026
Audience: 1k LinkedIn followers — 3.1% of this cohort's audience
Activity: 1 awards · 2 expansions announced in 12 mo
Tech stack
Apache Http ServerBootstrapCloudflareCloudflare Browser InsightsFancyboxGoogle Font Api
#6
Funding Raised · Grand Rapids, Michigan · founded 1964 · 554 employees
—raised
▾

Automotive tech leader delivering advanced seating and E-Systems solutions globally. With a century-long heritage, the company shapes the future of mobility through innovative seating solutions and advanced E-Systems. The company is dedicated to driving innovation, achieving operational excellence, and advancing sustainability. They focus on intelligent vehicle experiences and streamlining operations. The company is committed to creating products that ensure comfort, well-being, convenience, and safety. They are dedicated to reducing environmental impact, supporting communities, and improving sustainability. The company offers software and connection systems. They focus on environmental and social responsibility and governance.

Founders & team
Mary Gill ThorntonCEO
Investors
Huntington National Bank
Tech stack
WebflowLinkedin Insight TagLinkedin AdsJsdelivrJqueryGoogle Tag Manager

Funding & investor landscape

$126Mtotal disclosed funding
4companies funded
7disclosed rounds
0rounds last 90 days
Most active investors
Huntington National Bank1 rounds
OSTI1 rounds
PNC1 rounds
United States Department of Agriculture1 rounds
Prism market signals · United States · country-scoped Prism corpus, 5,477,462 docs

Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage

Share of Auto coverage by sub-theme.

Regulatory-risk over time rising

Funding & growth over time

funding rising · growth rising

RESEARCH SIGNALS · United States

How research on Autonomous Vehicles is moving in the United States

A read on the academic research around Autonomous Vehicles — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 3,252 United States-affiliated papers.

research sentiment over time
200820172026
enthusiastic · positive · guarded tone
Tone is overwhelmingly optimistic and intensifying — the enthusiastic (strongly-positive) share moved 24% → 50% across 2008–2026.
top research entities
  • Carnegie Mellon University89
  • Purdue University West Lafayette76
  • University of California, Berkeley69
  • Northeastern University64
  • Stanford University55
leading researchers
Anez, Diomar · Anez, Dimar · Sharareh Kermanshachi · John M. Dolan · Masayoshi Tomizuka · Freederia AI Researcher · Weisong Shi · Apurva Pamidimukkala
▲ Breakthroughs1,031 · 32%
▲ 28%→31% share
▲1.1× share momentum2 median citations80% since 2021mostly methods-led
Breakthroughs are rising (28%→31% of field), led by Computer vision.
rising sub-themes (early→recent)
  • Computer vision12→111
  • Human–computer interaction2→64
  • Perception2→59
  • Robustness (evolution)3→53
  • Trajectory12→61
Newly emergingReinforcement learning 0→70 · Context (archaeology) 0→30 · Adversarial system 0→27
Landmark Are we ready for autonomous driving? The KITTI vision benchmark suite · 14,099 cites
◆ Advancements942 · 29%
▼ 37%→28% share
▼0.8× share momentum2 median citations77% since 2021mostly methods-led
Advancements are cooling (37%→28% of field), led by Human–computer interaction.
rising sub-themes (early→recent)
  • Human–computer interaction3→65
  • Transport engineering11→66
  • Computer vision2→54
  • Reinforcement learning3→46
  • Automotive engineering5→48
Newly emergingObject detection 0→22 · Object (grammar) 0→17 · Vehicle safety 0→14
Landmark Autonomous driving in urban environments: Boss and the Urban Challenge · 1,488 cites
▼ Concerns727 · 22%
▲ 19%→23% share
▲1.2× share momentum0 median citations82% since 2021mostly empirical
Concerns are rising (19%→23% of field), led by Humanities.
rising sub-themes (early→recent)
  • Humanities4→108
  • Philosophy1→64
  • Context (archaeology)1→54
  • Computer security2→48
  • Transport engineering4→30
Newly emergingPerception 0→24 · Computer vision 0→13 · Metadata 0→12
Landmark The social dilemma of autonomous vehicles · 1,445 cites
RESEARCH HOTSPOTS · United States

Where autonomous vehicles is researched across United States

Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.

SF Bay Area154 · +0.50
Hot · Mathematical optimizationAdvancing · Probabilistic logicOpportunity · Advanced driver assistance systemsConcern · Humanities
Boston134 · +0.58
Hot · Path (computing)Advancing · Tracking (education)Opportunity · Reinforcement learningConcern · Risk analysis (engineering)
Ann Arbor124 · +0.52
Hot · PrimateAdvancing · Game theoryOpportunity · Motion (physics)Concern · Demography
Pittsburgh100 · +0.63
Hot · Traffic congestionAdvancing · ComputationOpportunity · Negotiation
New York76 · +0.39
Hot · DementiaAdvancing · Computer visionOpportunity · TrajectoryConcern · Key (lock)
Atlanta50 · +0.39
Hot · Vehicle dynamicsAdvancing · Constraint (computer-aided design)Opportunity · Motion planning
Los Angeles45 · +0.43
Hot · Test (biology)Advancing · Domain (mathematical analysis)Opportunity · Human–computer interactionConcern · Key (lock)
Austin39 · +0.45
Hot · Remote sensingAdvancing · LidarOpportunity · ReflectivityConcern · Crash
San Diego33 · +0.42
Hot · Object (grammar)Advancing · Computer visionOpportunity · Reinforcement learning
Chicago32 · +0.32
Hot · CADASILAdvancing · Computer securityOpportunity · Neuroimaging
PATENT SIGNAL · United States

Who's filing autonomous vehicles patents in the United States

United States autonomous vehicles patent filing is accelerating — 19,294 filings from 4,355 assignees (2016–2025), led by Waymo, Baidu USA, GM Cruise Holdings; annual filings 885→1348.

19,294 filings4,355 assigneespeak 2424/yr2016–2025
filing momentum (YoY 2016–2025)
top patent filers
  • Waymo1688
  • Baidu USA1034
  • GM Cruise Holdings767
  • FORD Global TECH589
  • Qualcomm565
  • Tusimple547
  • UBER Technologies527
  • UATC507

Common questions

How many Auto companies are there in Grand Rapids, United States?
Radar tracks 37 indexable Auto companies headquartered in Grand Rapids, United States that meet our profile-completeness bar.
What is the total funding raised by Auto companies in Grand Rapids, United States?
The Auto companies in Grand Rapids, United States on this list have raised a combined $126M in disclosed equity funding across 4 funded companies.
Which is the highest-funded Auto company in Grand Rapids, United States?
ASV Holdings is the highest-funded Auto company in Grand Rapids, United States, with $125M in disclosed equity funding.
How many Auto companies in Grand Rapids, United States are funded?
4 of the 37 Auto companies in Grand Rapids, United States on this list have disclosed at least one equity funding round.
How many Auto unicorns are there in Grand Rapids, United States?
None of the Auto companies in Grand Rapids, United States on this list currently has a disclosed valuation of $1B or more.
Who are the top investors in Grand Rapids, United States Auto companies?
The most active investors in Grand Rapids, United States Auto companies on this list include Huntington National Bank, OSTI, PNC, United States Department of Agriculture.
Rohit KhannaTrends & Stories

Rohit lives in the feed. He covers what's moving right now — the funding rounds, launches and shifts breaking across the trade press — and ties them back to where the sector is heading.

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