STELLA Automotive

STELLA Automotive AI provides a conversational artificial intelligence platform tailored for the automotive retail industry, designed to manage and streamline customer communications for car dealerships. The company was established in 2022 by Josselyn Boudett, a serial entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in AI, including a role as Global Director at Lucent Technology and founder of an AI-based search technology firm. Her background in creating AI solutions for large enterprises across various sectors led to the formation of STELLA, which was developed in collaboration with automotive dealers and industry investors to address inefficiencies in dealership customer engagement.

The firm's core offering is an AI-powered digital voice assistant that operates 24/7, handling inbound calls, answering frequently asked questions, scheduling service appointments, and routing complex inquiries to the appropriate dealership staff. The platform integrates with existing dealership software such as Dealer Management Systems (DMS), CRMs, and service schedulers, functioning across voice, text, and chat channels. This system is designed to answer every call on the first ring, eliminate hold times, and provide a consistent, human-like interaction in both English and Spanish. The business model is a B2B Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), generating revenue by providing its AI platform to individual dealerships and large automotive groups across North America.

Since its launch, the company has achieved significant milestones, including securing $19.7 million in a Series A financing round and being named Microsoft's Copilot for Automotive in 2024. Rich Sands, an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience at companies like Ford and Microsoft, was appointed CEO in 2023 to lead the company through its rapid growth phase. The platform's product suite includes STELLA Reception for call routing, STELLA Service for automating service booking, STELLA Sales for lead qualification, and STELLA Insights for providing analytics on customer interactions and operational performance. By automating repetitive communication tasks, the platform allows dealership personnel to focus on more complex, customer-facing activities, thereby aiming to improve operational efficiency and customer retention.

Keywords: conversational AI, automotive dealerships, customer engagement platform, virtual assistant, digital voice assistant, appointment scheduling, lead qualification, automotive retail technology, B2B SaaS, call center automation, customer service AI, dealership software, DMS integration, automotive AI, STELLA Reception, STELLA Service, Josselyn Boudett, Rich Sands, automotive technology, AI for car dealers