ACV acquires vehicle damage-detecting AI company for $19M

Used-car online auction company ACV Auctions Inc. said Monday it completed a $19 million acquisition of Monk SAS, an artificial intelligence solutions company that automates vehicle damage detection.

The acquisition is ACV’s latest step in building up its slate of digital products aimed at dealers and commercial partners.

The AI option can help dealer customers scrutinize potential inventory, ACV said. Users of the software use a guided photo capture to take pictures of vehicle exteriors, which are then analyzed for damage, such as scratches and dents, according to an AI imaging demo video from Monk.

Imaging AI will be offered as a standalone software-as-a-service option. It will also be integrated into ACV’s other products: Drivably, a consumer-to-dealer vehicle marketplace it acquired last week, and Max Digital, which offers a vehicle inventory management platform and other products to dealers.

Integrating Monk SAS software expands ACV’s data services and widens the company’s vehicle intelligence database, the company said.

The AI-enabled self-inspection platform is already live with initial customers in Europe, ACV CEO George Chamoun said in a news release.