Nexar raises $30M in Series B Funding

Nexar, a technology company building the world's largest safe driving network, announced it closed a $30 million round of financing led by Ibex Investors, with participation from Alibaba Innovation Ventures, US-based Nationwide, and previous investors Aleph, Mosaic Ventures, Slow Ventures, True Ventures, and Tusk Ventures.

The company, which provides consumers, insurance companies, and automakers with sophisticated safe driving tools that detect, record, and warn drivers of real-time road hazards, also announced the appointments of Yoad Shraybom, a former Disney executive, as Chief Financial Officer, and veteran technology executive Marc Gaffan as Chief Business Officer.

Nexar will use the funding to further its mission of eliminating car crashes and expand its vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network by working with insurers, cities, and automakers. The company offers a free dashcam app connected to a V2V communication network that marries its deep learning and sensor fusion technology with off-the-shelf hardware to provide advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and collision prevention alerts to drivers. Nexar also provides next-generation data products and telematics to insurance carriers, such as collision reconstruction and first notice of loss reports, which help expedite claims and prevent fraudulent claims. In the near future, Nexar products will also help municipalities and states better manage infrastructure and traffic, and make roads safer through its data-powered insights.

Since the launch of Nexar's app in 2016, drivers in 740 cities across 160 countries have driven more than 100 million miles with Nexar, with 10 million miles driven in the last month alone. After activating its vehicle-to-vehicle network in New York City later that year, Nexar saw a 30 percent reduction in collisions among its users. Nexar's biggest markets are in New York City, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, and Las Vegas. In New York, Nexar is used by more than 10 percent of the city's ride-sharing drivers and is able to provide a complete scan of each intersection in Manhattan every five minutes.

"Our primary goal has always been to use AI-based systems to make driving smarter and safer, and we're enthusiastic about the progress we've made so far towards our goal of eliminating collisions on the roads," said Nexar CEO and Co-founder Eran Shir. "This new infusion of funding and the addition of Yoad and Marc to our team will allow us to continue to grow our network and create accessible, data-driven solutions to help make vehicle collisions a thing of the past."

"By crowdsourcing real-world driving data from vehicles on the road in real-time, Nexar is keeping every vehicle safe on the road and is building the future traffic management system of our roads," said Elan Zivotofsky of Ibex Investors. "Through the use of cutting-edge AI, Nexar has emerged as a leading player in the mobility space by transforming the way the insurance, automotive and transportation industries harness the power of road data. We are excited to be on board, and look forward to joining the Nexar team for this exciting journey." Elan Zivotofsky will join Nexar's board of directors.

Yoad Shraybom, the former CFO of The Walt Disney company in Israel, Turkey and Greece, has been appointed as CFO of Nexar. His role will include leading financial planning and accountability activities as the company grows its business operations.

Joining Nexar as Chief Business Officer is Marc Gaffan, former Co-founder and General Manager of Incapsula, a Global Application Delivery Service that protects and accelerates digital infrastructure. Marc will be spearheading Nexar's sales, marketing, and business development efforts as the company moves towards global expansion.