Borusan Ventures invests in Flai, a company developing AI solutions for car dealerships

 

Borusan Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of the Borusan Group, has participated in the $4.5 million seed funding round of Flai, a company transforming customer communications for car dealerships through Voice AI technology.

Borusan Ventures has invested in Flai, a U.S.-based company that enhances customer communication in car dealerships’ sales and service processes with voice-based artificial intelligence. The $4.5 million seed round was led by the prominent U.S. venture capital firm First Round Capital and included participation from Borusan Ventures, Innovation Endeavors—the fund founded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt—Y Combinator, and several other investors.

Defne Kocabıyık Narter: “Flai is already creating value for many dealerships.”

Defne Kocabıyık Narter, Founder and Chairwoman of Borusan Ventures, commented on the new investment:
“Flai addresses a key problem at one of the most important contact points with customers in the automotive industry. The founding team’s experience in voice AI, particularly from their time at HappyRobot, and their ability to deliver tangible results in a short time across many dealerships impressed us greatly.”

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Borusan Ventures invests in early-stage startups across the U.S. and Europe, focusing on sectors such as energy, mobility, logistics, supply chain, and industrial technologies. Leveraging Borusan Group’s 81 years of industrial experience, Borusan Ventures provides strategic support to startups aiming for global success and long-term impact—offering them access to new markets and growth opportunities.

Every missed call means potential revenue loss

Customers often call dealerships to inquire about a new car or to schedule a service appointment for their vehicle. However, these calls frequently result in long wait times, misdirected calls, or voicemail messages—causing high operational loads and customer dissatisfaction for dealerships.

According to Flai, which has closely engaged with over 450 dealerships in the U.S., the most common issues include missed and untracked calls, backlogged messages, and unresolved requests. Data shows that 70% of customers who reach voicemail contact a competing dealership within 30 minutes—meaning each missed call can directly translate into a lost sale.

Flai improves customer communication through AI

Flai solves this problem by immediately taking over incoming customer calls. Especially during off-hours or peak times, it manages critical workflows such as call answering, service scheduling, and sales follow-ups end-to-end. As a result, dealerships never miss a customer, and every conversation has the potential to turn into an appointment or a sale.

Every call is recorded, analyzed, and advanced to the next step in real time. Flai delivers a seamless experience with 24/7 accessibility, multilingual support, customer recognition, and zero waiting time.

The platform can be fully customized according to each dealership’s operations. Integrated with systems like appointment scheduling, CRM, and DMS, Flai supports multi-channel communication—including phone, SMS, and email—covering all customer touchpoints.

Flai is already being actively used in many U.S. dealerships and has successfully managed tens of thousands of customer calls. In just the past two months, the company has generated millions of dollars in additional revenue, with its largest locations creating around $150,000 in monthly income.

Flai was founded by a team of voice AI experts with experience at major tech companies such as Uber, Netflix, and HappyRobot. One of its co-founders and CEO, Ari Polakof, was a founding engineer at HappyRobot, where he helped develop a voice AI solution for logistics call centers that reached a $500 million valuation within two years.