Nautilus

Nautilus builds a software platform for car wash operators that integrates with the legacy point-of-sale systems washes already run. The platform consolidates POS data, advertising platforms (Google Ads, Meta Ads), review sources, HR/payroll and customer data into a single system, then uses that data to power four functional areas: online membership and retail checkout, a member self-service portal with a full CRM, automated SMS and email marketing with AI agents, and real-time reporting and revenue attribution.

On top of the core platform, Nautilus sells a set of AI products: Shipyard, an AI website builder positioned as a replacement for a web agency; Compass, a natural-language AI analyst that queries a wash's POS data and generates charts; AI CMO, an automated marketing engine that scores and remediates website issues; and Support Agent, an AI voice, chat and text support layer covering customer inquiries around the clock. According to the company, members can manage plans, payments and license-plate changes themselves, and operators use the system to run automations such as upsells and win-back campaigns.

Y Combinator describes Nautilus as an all-in-one AI-powered CRM, e-commerce and marketing automation platform for car washes, positioned against outdated POS systems and the patchwork of spreadsheets, texting tools, email software and legacy portals operators otherwise use.

Founding story

Co-founders Amayr Babar (Founder/CEO) and Ali Sareini (Founder/CTO) have been friends for over a decade and met the car wash problem from different directions. Babar holds an A.B. and a B.E. in engineering from Dartmouth and spent two years building custom tools for car wash operators covering online sales, membership management and operational automation. Sareini holds a B.S. in computer science from the University of Virginia, began his career in the industry as a cashier at Autobell Car Wash, and later worked as a software engineer on money-movement systems at Fidelity Investments; he also led a consulting firm, SABRES, and serves on the board of a Missouri-based public-safety company. The two met while completing master's degrees in engineering management at Dartmouth, and Sareini left Dartmouth's MEM program to work on Nautilus full-time.

Business model

Nautilus sells subscription software to car wash operators on a per-site, per-month basis, with monthly or annual billing (annual discounted by 10%). Two tiers are offered: a core Platform tier and a Complete tier at $2,200 per site per month that bundles the platform with all AI products (Shipyard, AI CMO, Compass, Support Agent) plus priority support. The company advertises $0 setup and 0% commission on online sales, in contrast to competitor commission on online transactions. Standalone list values are cited for individual components, including $650 for the Nautilus Platform and $750 per month for the Compass AI product.

Recurring per-site monthly or annual software subscriptions across two tiers, with no setup fee and no commission taken on online sales; AI products are bundled in the higher Complete tier rather than sold as revenue-share.

Traction

The company reports operators nationwide on the platform, migration of roughly 50 sites in about 2.5 weeks, checkout conversion of 67% on Nautilus-built sites (described as nearly double the industry average), and time savings of 15+ hours per week for customers such as Shine Time and Splash Car Wash. Customer stories cite hundreds of memberships sold in the first month at Surf Thru Express Car Wash and hundreds of new members at Al's Super Wash. Y Combinator lists a team size of 4 and open roles in San Francisco for a full-stack engineer and a customer support engineer.

Latest developments

In March 2026, Nautilus and Droptop announced an integration linking carwash and quick lube reporting. Earlier coverage includes the October 2025 launch of the Nautilus AI carwash platform for NXT Wash and trade press features in March 2026 on the platform's AI capabilities.