• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
vroom

Vroom Brings In $50 Million to Expand Its Online Used-Car Business

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 20, 2016, 7:30 AM ET
Screenshot of Vroom.com

Vroom, an online used-car sales startup, has raised $50 million in its latest funding round as the company prepares to push into new markets, as well as expand inventory and staff.

The Series E round included new investors Altimeter Capital and Foxhaven Asset Management. Previous investors L Catterton, General Catalyst Partners, Allen & Co., and T. Rowe Price Associates also participated. Vroom has raised a total of $218 million since it was founded in 2013.

The funds will be used to build out four areas of its business, including its geographic footprint, CEO Paul Hennessy told Fortune.

See also: U.S. Regulators May Pre-Approve Self-Driving Cars

Unlike other online retailers that simply create a marketplace for people to sell cars to each other, Vroom handles the entire transaction. The company takes possession of the used car from the seller, reconditions it, and then delivers it to the buyer’s door. The company reconditions cars at a facility in Houston—a lengthy haul to a customer in, say, New England or the West Coast.

Vroom wants to open regional facilities to get closer to customers, said Hennessy, the former chief executive of Priceline.com.

The company also wants to expand its inventory of cars to meet consumer demand and it will hire more employees, particularly software engineers, Hennessy said. In addition, Vroom plans to use some of the new funds to market the company and help build the brand, he added.

Subscribe to Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on technology.

Vroom is on track to generate close to $1.1 billion in revenue and to sell 50,000 cars in 2016, Hennessy said. Last year, the company generated $900 million in sales.

That’s still a tiny number compared to the entire used car market. Between 40 million and 45 million used cars will be sold in the U.S. this year. CarMax, one of the largest competitors in the space, will sell 500,000 cars, Hennessy said.

See also: Here’s How Much GM’s New Chevy Bolt EV Will Cost

“It’s a massively fragmented market,” he said. “We love that and our investors love it; it means it’s not going to take a ton of capital to make people aware that this is an alternative.”

Vroom’s previous funding round, which closed in December, brought in $95 million in equity. Some of those funds were used to acquire Texas Auto Direct, a competitor known for developing software that significantly reduces the time it takes to process and recondition used vehicles. Vroom did not disclose the acquisition price.

The online used-car marketplace has exploded in recent years, with startup companies and investors jumping into the space. A handful of startups, namely Beepi, Carvana, Shift Technologies, and Vroom, have scaled operations and raised tens of millions from investors.

And each one has put its own tech-centric spin on used car sales. Phoenix-based Carvana, for example, has added an eye-catching vending machine to its online business, and the company raised $160 million in new funding from undisclosed investors last month.

Meanwhile, Beepi, which has developed a peer-to-peer platform that lets consumers buy and sell cars online, has raised nearly $149 million from venture capital firms and China’s SAIC Motor Corporation. The company told Fortune on Monday it is piloting a new auction service called Beepi Blue in Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
After decades in the music industry, Pharrell Williams admits he never stops working: ‘If you do what you love everyday, you’ll get paid for free'
By Emma BurleighFebruary 3, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Peter Thiel warns the Antichrist and apocalypse are linked to the ‘end of modernity’ currently happening—and cites Greta Thunberg as a driving example
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 4, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Ray Dalio warns the world is ‘on the brink’ of a capital war of weaponizing money—and gold is the best way for people to protect themselves
By Sasha RogelbergFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Crypto
Bitcoin demand in Nancy Guthrie disappearance shows how crypto is becoming a more frequent feature of physical crimes
By Carlos GarciaFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Tech stocks go into free fall as it dawns on traders that AI has the ability to cut revenues across the board
By Jim EdwardsFebruary 4, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Trump is giving the U.S. economy a $65 billion tax-refund shot in the arm, mostly for higher-income people, BofA says
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
16 hours ago

Latest in

A person holding a blue piggy bank
Personal FinanceSavings
Best savings account bonuses for February 2026
By Joseph HostetlerFebruary 5, 2026
10 hours ago
lee
InvestingMarkets
Top analyst Tom Lee on gold’s black swan risk: Elon Musk becoming ‘the new central bank’
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
10 hours ago
Sam Altman speaking into a mic.
AIOpenAI
OpenAI’s new model leaps ahead in coding capabilities—but raises unprecedented cybersecurity risks
By Sharon GoldmanFebruary 5, 2026
10 hours ago
Real EstateHousing
Rocket CEO says U.S. mortgage industry is a ‘tale of two cities.’ His booming business shows a broader reality for American homebuyers
By Sydney LakeFebruary 5, 2026
11 hours ago
tiktok
CybersecuritySocial Media
Gen Z is rebelling against TikTok USA by installing another app—founded by an Oracle alum
By Nick LichtenbergFebruary 5, 2026
11 hours ago
Healthmattresses
Helix Mattress Review 2026: Tested by Sleep Experts
By Christina SnyderFebruary 5, 2026
12 hours ago