Sheryl Sandberg invests $10 million in AI-powered vehicle inspection startup

Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg has led a $10 million investment round for Self Inspection, a startup specializing in AI-powered vehicle technical inspections. Founded in San Diego, the project offers a system to detect vehicle damage using a standard smartphone camera. This is reported by Techcrunch.com reports .

According to TechCrunch, this investment, made by the Bernthal Venture Partners family office, aims to digitize traditional and complex inspection processes in the automotive industry. To date, the startup has successfully inspected over 1 million vehicles for rental fleets, financial companies, and auctions. Specifically, the financial division of Stellantis uses this platform to evaluate vehicles at the end of their lease terms.

Technological revolution in the industry

Sheryl Sandberg noted that the largest tech companies are usually born from transforming massive industries in need of change. "Vehicle condition assessment impacts billions of dollars in decisions every year, yet data remains fragmented. We believe Self Inspection will create the unified reporting system the automotive industry needs," she said in a statement.

The main advantage of the Self Inspection system is its simplicity. The company sells its software to clients like Stellantis, who then send a special link to vehicle owners. The user takes photos of the car via their smartphone, and the app guides the process, ensuring all angles are covered. This eliminates the need to visit expensive equipment or specialized stations.

AI and database

The captured images are compared against the world's largest database of damaged vehicles owned by Self Inspection. The AI not only identifies defects but also assesses their severity. As a result, the user receives a detailed PDF report within minutes, including repair costs, a list of necessary spare parts, and labor requirements.

In an interview last year, company CEO Constantine Yaremtso stated that they are leveraging the fact that everyone has a high-quality camera in their pocket. The system also has the capability to pull data from the vehicle's OBD2 computer for more precise information, allowing for remote analysis of internal faults.

In addition to Sandberg, this investment round included participation from former Tesla president Jon McNeill’s DVx Ventures fund, as well as strategic investors like U.S. AutoForce and Westlake Financial. Currently, startups like Toma, Flair, and BidBus are also attempting to implement AI in the automotive market, but Self Inspection is positioning itself as a leader in democratizing technical inspections.