Modal

Modal (modalup.com), formerly Next Technologies and then Drive Motors, was a San Francisco software company selling digital commerce technology for automotive retailers and manufacturers. Its products let car shoppers complete new- and used-vehicle purchase transactions online, embedded directly inside a dealer's or brand's existing website and showroom experience rather than on a separate marketplace. The company described its products as a transparent transaction layer within the merchant's own experience, and chose the "Modal" name in reference to the modal window UI pattern, which keeps the underlying page visible while focusing the user on a single interaction.

The core product, referred to as Checkout, was implemented by dealers on their own websites so vehicles could be sold directly through them. By mid-2019 the company said cumulative volume through Checkout exceeded $8 billion, that its largest customers reported up to 20% gross ecommerce penetration and over $500 more profit per vehicle on Modal-originated sales, and that average monthly volume per store had doubled over the prior year to more than $1.8 million, with top stores exceeding $10 million per month.

Y Combinator's directory lists the company's status as Inactive with a team size of 18, and Wikipedia describes the business in the past tense.

Founding story

Founded in 2015 as Next Technologies, out of Khosla Ventures. The founder, having sold a prior business to Yahoo! in 2013, spent months shopping for a car and concluded the process was time-consuming and could be streamlined, telling TechCrunch that "it became shockingly clear that ecommerce had not reached new cars."

Business model

B2B software sold to automotive dealers, dealer groups and vehicle brands, who deploy the checkout software on their own websites and in their showrooms to complete vehicle transactions. Sources describe revenue in terms of annual recurring revenue, indicating a subscription/licensing arrangement, but do not detail pricing.

Sources report annual recurring revenue reaching $1 million within roughly 10 months of the official launch, indicating recurring software revenue from dealer and brand customers; no pricing or take-rate details are disclosed.

Traction

Cumulative volume through the Checkout product surpassed $8 billion within about three years of launch; the largest US auto retailers used the product across hundreds of stores. Annual recurring revenue reached $1 million about 10 months after launch. Customers included Asbury Automotive Group, Honda, Nissan, Porsche, Lithia and Group One.

Latest developments

The most recent company-specific development in the sources is the June 2019 rebrand from Drive Motors to Modal alongside a $5 million raise. Y Combinator's directory subsequently lists the company's status as Inactive with a team size of 18.