Scott Painter’s Next Auto Venture Secures $1 Billion Debt, Equity Funding

Fair, a flexible car ownership startup launched by Scott Painter, announced it raised an undisclosed round led by BMW i Ventures with participation from Penske Automotive Group and other unnamed investors.

The Santa Monica company also secured offers for nearly $1 billion that “in dedicated capital from a group of institutional investment banks that traditionally back auto debt portfolios,” it said in a release. That financing came from a group of institutional investment banks and from an unnamed entity led by venture capital firm Sherpa Capital of San Francisco.

Fair’s app allows customers to use a picture of their driver’s license, bank account information and a digital signature to get approved for what amounts to a short-term lease a car. Customers can order a ready-to-pick-up car from any nearby participating car dealership in minutes and drive their car for as long as they want; returning it within five days’ notice.

The company buys the car and most of the vehicle’s ongoing costs, including a limited warranty, routine maintenance and roadside assistance, into the customer’s monthly payment. Customers can also add insurance over the app.

Painter, Fair’s founder and chief executive, founded car pricing comparison app TrueCar and online car purchasing website Cars Direct, which later expanded into online media company Internet Brands of El Segundo.

Fair plans to grow its presence from Los Angeles to the rest of California by the end of 2017, and to other select markets nationwide through 2018.

Technology and aerospace reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at greim@labusinessjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim

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