Best Auto IT Companies in Illinois, United States
The 43 best Auto IT companies in Illinois, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Cobalt Group.
Ranked: Best Auto IT companies in Illinois
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cobalt Group Marketing services for automotive industry | $47M | 266 mo ago | Acquired | Steve Anenen CEO & President | 1995 | — | 93 patents Microbial strain engineering and fermentation processes for bioproduct production | — |
| 2 | Drivin Dealer Optimizing dealer inventory with data-driven vehicle recommendations and market insights | $18M | 123 mo ago | Acquired | — | 2015 | — | — | — |
| 3 | CCC AI and cloud-driven insurance claims solution for the insurance and automotive industry | $14M | 76 mo ago | Public | — | 1980 | WebflowMarkerApple iCloud Mail+28 | 3 patents Passive dust suppression systems for bulk material transfer chutes and conveyors | — |
| 4 | CarDr.com Provider of Used Car Inspection | $5M | 68 mo ago | Seed | — | 2019 | WordPressMySQLPHP+15 | — | — |
| 5 | Xcite Automotive Provider of a suite of management solutions for automotive dealerships | $2M | 25 mo ago | Series A | — | 2007 | HubSpot CMS HubApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+19 | — | — |
| 6 | Carbly SaaS-driven car pricing & appraisal tool for auto dealerships | $375K | 14 mo ago | Seed | — | 2017 | SentryBootstrapEmotion+20 | — | — |
| 7 | Dealer Inspire Website builder for Automotive dealers | $300K | 155 mo ago | Acquired | Marc Damon Co-Founder & VP | 2013 | Cart FunctionalityWordPressApple iCloud Mail+34 | 3 patents Digital automotive dealership marketing platforms and data-driven sales tools | — |
| 8 | Affinitiv Cloud based marketing automation platform for the automobile industry | — | 83 mo ago | Late Stage | Blair Hawthorne Founder & Co-CEO | 1999 | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+15 | — | — |
| 9 | Cars Commerce Dealership management solutions for automotive dealerships | — | 90 mo ago | Series A | Alex Vetter Director | 2015 | WordPress Block EditorWordPressApple iCloud Mail+38 | — | 2 launchs |
| 10 | CDK Global Platform offering software and services for automotive retail operations | — | 135 mo ago | Acquired | — | 1972 | WordPressMySQLMariaDB+26 | 47 patents Automotive dealer management platforms integrating AI, cloud services, and data verification | — |
Top 11 Auto IT companies in Illinois
#1
Seed · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2017 · 8 employees$375Kraised▾
SaaS-driven car pricing & appraisal tool for auto dealerships. Its mobile-based appraisal tool features a VIN scanner, valuations tools, vehicle reports, and market data. The system also combines a dealer-only vehicle marketplace. Apps are available for both Android & iOS devices.
- May 2025Seed$375K
#2
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2007 · 500 employees$1.9Mraised▾
It is a company that specializes in providing vehicle photography and inventory management software for automotive dealers. They offer services such as photos, window stickers, and 360 spin. They also have various brands under their umbrella, including ReconLogic, CarStudioPros, VehicleStickers.io, CarsByText, and Frontline Inventory.
- Jun 2024Series A$3.4M
#3
Acquired · Hoffman Estates, Illinois · founded 1995$47Mraised▾
The Cobalt Group provides marketing services for automotive industry. It works in the automotive retail market and helps the manufacturers and dealers increase their profits. The company has developed several products such as for CRM - Prospector, Lead Manager, Media Tracker; online retailing packages like dealer group portal solution, content management tools, and others; also has additional packages for inventory marketing, image marketing, vehicle research and others. The Cobalt Digital Marketing, was acquired by ADP Dealer Services in 2010. Further ADP rebranded itself to CDK Global. Acura, Audi, Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Honda are some of its clients.
- Jun 2004Venture Debt$7M
- Jun 2004Series B$47M
- Jun 2000Post IPO$15M
#4
Public · Chicago, Illinois · founded 1980 · 6 employees$14.1Mraised▾
AI and cloud-driven insurance claims solution for the insurance and automotive industry. It also provides workflow software and enabling technologies to automotive collision repairers, parts suppliers, property and casualty insurance carriers. It provides marketing solutions for users.
- Mar 2020Unattributed$14.1M
- Jul 2013PE—
- Dec 2011Unattributed$1.8M
- Sep 2011Unattributed$1M
#5
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015 · 69 employees$17.5Mraised▾
Optimizing dealer inventory with data-driven vehicle recommendations and market insights. The company helps dealers optimize their inventory to better meet buyer demands. Focused on improving each dealer's bottom line, the platform provides streamlined vehicle recommendations, delivering cars proven to perform on their lot directly to their inbox. Leveraging data insights and experienced inventory consultants, the company identifies ideal inventory matches. The company empowers dealers to improve their lot fitness with tailored vehicle recommendations. Through a user-friendly application, car dealers gain instant access to industry-sourced pricing guides and market reports. Features include a VIN scanner for real-time car information, live auction inventory browsing, and vehicle search capabilities across computer and smartphone platforms. The company also provides vehicle history reports with unique and extensive data, actively sourced to ensure the most up-to-date information. This is a B2B SaaS platform.
- May 2016Series A$7.5M
- Jul 2015Series A$10M
#6
Seed · Oak Brook, Illinois · founded 2019 · 15 employees$5Mraised▾
Provider of Used Car Inspection
- Dec 2020Seed$5M
#7
Acquired · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2013 · 678 employees$300Kraised▾
DealerInspire is a website platform for the auto dealership industry, offering customized solutions for website building. The analytics dashboard allows administrators to monitor true ROI, SEM, SEO etc.
- Sep 2013Conventional Debt$300K
#8
Late Stage · Buffalo Grove, Illinois · founded 1999 · 508 employees—raised▾
Cloud based marketing automation platform for the automobile industry. Their solution includes digital marketing campaigns such as pay-per-click campaigns, social media, direct mails, telephony, etc. It also promotes customer engagement through greetings, reminders, and customized messages. It offers retention marketing and product service solutions such as equity mining, digital solutions, CRM, and more.
- Sep 2019PE—
- Sep 2016PE—
#9
Series A · Chicago, Illinois · founded 2015—raised▾
Dealership management solutions for automotive dealerships. The platform offers features that includes inventory management, website development, marketing management, sales management, and more.
- Feb 2019Series A—
#10
Acquired · Hoffman Estates, Illinois · founded 1972 · 4977 employees—raised▾
Platform offering software and services for automotive retail operations. It provides tools to help dealerships and vehicle sellers manage inventory, sales processing, customer interactions, and dealer operations. The platform supports workflows across sales, service, and back-office functions to streamline business operations.
- May 2015Post IPO—
- Oct 2014Post IPO—
#11
Acquired · Oak Brook, Illinois · founded 2005 · 60 employees—raised▾
Automotive software solutions for inventory management and maximizing dealership profitability. The company provides cloud-based software and data-driven insights to help dealerships optimize their new and used car inventory, wholesale sourcing, merchandising, and reconditioning processes. Their solutions offer live market views, performance management tools, and training resources to improve efficiency, increase sales, and enhance profitability. They offer multiple products and services, including inventory management software, wholesale sourcing software, reconditioning software, and merchandising tools. The company's platform supports mobile and desktop access, providing real-time data and recommendations for pricing, appraising, and stocking vehicles. They offer training, webinars, and a help center to support their clients. The company focuses on helping dealers make data-driven decisions to improve their ROI and gain a competitive advantage in the automotive market.
- Jan 2007Seed—
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Auto IT coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising