(c)iStock.com/Pamela Moore

CarForce, a Houston-based connected car company, has received funding from Digitech Venture Capital Fund, alongside technology incubator Seed Sumo and early Uber investor Jason Calacanis.

CarForce allows its vehicle dealership customers to seamlessly share their maintenance and safety data on its cloud-based platform. The company has developed a cloud-based SaaS solution that allows connected car telematics to provide dealerships with real-time updates on the health of their customer's vehicles, also enabling dealers to provide their customers with a white glove customer service experience including remote diagnostics while increasing service- and customer retention revenue.

Seeking national expansion, the company is currently aiming at nearly 18,000 franchise dealers across the US that represents over half of the USD147 billion annual parts and service industry with an initial focus on Texas and California.

Jessika Lora, founder and CEO at CarForce, said: “The vehicle service side of the automotive industry has been overlooked by technology companies, but paradoxically it’s where 60% of the operating income comes from. This was a logical choice as we saw a major customer pain point, a huge automotive vehicle service market, and vastly outdated technology. This is a market that was overdue for CarForce’s innovation.”

Founded by an ex-eBay Motors executive, CarForce has made a name for itself in the tech community by winning Global Entrepreneur of the Year presented by IBM at LAUNCH Festival 2016 and Mobility Startup of the Year at SXSW’s Hatch Pitch 2016.