Supply chain startup Partly raises £40m led by DST Global Partners
This article covers Partly, a supply chain startup, which has raised £40m in a series B funding round led by DST Global Partners as it launches into the US market. The funding will support Partly’s move from development to commercial operations in Austin, Texas, targeting the US collision repair market and serving repairers, insurers and parts suppliers.
Partly, a supply chain startup, has raised £40 million in a series B funding round led by DST Global Partners as it launches into the US market. The capital will underpin Partly’s expansion from development into commercial operations in Austin, Texas, and supports its claim to provide the first foundation model purpose-built for automotive parts — a niche the company says general-purpose AI has not solved.
Why it matters
The announcement matters because Partly is targeting a large, under-digitised sector: the US collision repair market, which the company values at more than $100 billion and counts roughly 250,000 repairers. Much of that market relies on analogue processes and fragmented data flows, which Partly and others say create inefficiencies and lost revenue. If successful, a purpose-built AI layer for parts lookup, compatibility and pricing could reduce friction across repair supply chains and dealer networks.
Inside the product
Partly’s core product is the Interpreter model, which the company describes as a foundation model trained specifically for automotive parts. Built over five years, the model has been trained on a mixture of human feedback, synthetic data and live data, and the company cites more than fifty manufacturer agreements as sources that feed its training set and help map complex parts hierarchies and compatibility rules.
Partly positions Interpreter as addressing multi-layered technical challenges — such as variant-heavy product catalogues, overlapping part numbers and vehicle-specific fitment rules — that general-purpose models struggle with. The company says the model continuously updates on live data and is targeted at providing an AI infrastructure layer for repairers, insurers and parts suppliers.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by DST Global Partners. The company has not publicly listed further participants.
DST’s lead role signals substantial backing for a vertical AI play focused on operational infrastructure. For Partly, the capital supports its US launch in Austin, relocation of senior executives and a hiring push across engineering, product and business development as it aims to move from product development to deployment with insurer and repair networks.
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Founder perspective
In the announcement, Levi Fawcett, Co-founder & CEO at Partly, said:
Not since the creation of the assembly line or EVs has the auto industry experienced significant innovation that simultaneously improves operational efficiency, industry profitability, and consumer value. We have spent five years building the AI infrastructure layer that the industry has been missing. The model architecture is extremely nuanced, there's a reason general models don't solve it, and why we've been able to own the frontier AI here.
Partly has relocated its core executive team to Austin and is actively recruiting to staff its US operations, reflecting an intent to sell directly into collision repair ecosystems and partner with manufacturers and insurers.
The bigger picture
Partly’s raise and US push underline growing investor interest in vertical AI infrastructure that tackles specific industry workflows rather than general-purpose assistants. For the automotive aftermarket and broader supply chain sector, this is an example of AI being applied to data and workflow complexity rather than headline-generative use cases.
The deal also matters to the UK and European ecosystem because it highlights a route for startups building deep, domain-specific models to attract large growth capital and enter global markets. As investors look beyond horizontal models, supply chain investors and founders in the region may find precedent in Partly’s approach for combining manufacturer partnerships, specialised training data and targeted go-to-market plays.
They've invested in Partly
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| Investors | Investment Focus | Startup Investments | Round Size | Connect |
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