Eclipse backs all-EV marketplace Ever in $31M funding round

Source: TechCrunch

If you want to buy or sell a used EV right now, what’s the first step you’d take?

A startup called Ever aims to be the answer. The company bills itself as the first “AI‑native, full‑stack auto retail business” for electric vehicles and already has thousands of customers buying and selling EVs on its platform.

$31 M Series A Funding Round

Ever is scaling with a $31 million Series A led by Eclipse, joined by Ibex Investors, Lifeline Ventures, and JIMCO – the investment arm of the Saudi Arabian Jameel family (early investors in Rivian).

Eclipse partner Jiten Behl told TechCrunch that many AI tools in automotive retail are “band‑aids,” likening them to early automakers’ first EVs that were simply repurposed combustion cars. He believes auto retail is ripe for disruption because it is highly process‑driven, labor‑intensive, and rules‑based.

Vision and Technology

Ever’s co‑founder and CEO Lasse‑Mathias Nyberg explains that buying or selling a car typically triggers “hundreds or thousands of different actions” for a retailer, creating massive friction on both sides.

The company’s solution is a digital‑first auto retailer built around an orchestration layer—an “operating system” that manages all transaction workflows, from appraisal and pricing to titling and inventory management. Nyberg says this unified approach lets Ever’s sales team be 2–3 × more productive, boosting margins that can be passed on to customers as lower prices.

Ever combines an online marketplace with physical locations, recognizing that many buyers still want to see and test‑drive a vehicle in person—especially first‑time EV shoppers.

Market Context

Traditional players like Carvana and Carmax introduced digital car‑buying, but newer startups have focused on add‑on AI tools (voice agents, scheduling software). Behl argues that a clean‑sheet, AI‑driven operating system offers far greater efficiency.

He notes that Carvana still holds only single‑digit market share in automotive retail, leaving substantial upside for a platform that can deliver a frictionless, digitally led buying and selling experience.

Early User Feedback

Reactions on a Reddit thread were mixed. Some users praised Ever for simplifying EV purchases, while others reported difficulty reaching the startup’s team. Nyberg attributes the latter to the company’s early, stealth‑mode phase and says the team is working to make the system more flexible and responsive.

Future Outlook

While interest in EVs has cooled slightly in the United States, Nyberg says Ever may eventually expand to used combustion cars but will stay focused on EVs for now, given the lack of a retailer dedicated solely to electric vehicles.

Behl, who spent eight years on Rivian’s leadership team, remains a “hopeless romantic” about EVs and believes the industry will continue moving toward electric propulsion because of its inherent benefits. His “first thought” during diligence on Ever was: “I wish Rivian was doing this.”