Partly, an AI automotive startup, has relocated its global headquarters from the United Kingdom to Austin and plans to more than double its workforce over the next two years. The move was funded by a $50 million raise backed by Yuri Milner's DST Global Partners, pushing Partly's valuation to $500 million. Founded in 2020, Partly has built an AI model to automate workflows for vehicle repairs, serving automakers like Toyota and Hyundai. CEO Levi Fawcett cited Austin's talent pool and affordability compared to the Bay Area as key factors in the decision. The company currently employs about 50 people in Austin and expects 200 workers by end of 2027, doubling that number the following year. Partly will move into permanent downtown offices later this year.

Partly Group, a New Zealand startup using AI for automotive parts identification, has raised $50 million at a $500 million valuation and is launching its first US operation in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2020 by former Rocket Lab engineer Levi Fawcett, Partly has developed Interpreter, a foundation model trained specifically on vehicle parts. The multimodal AI reads technical diagrams, damage photos and repair descriptions, mapping them to standardised vehicle assemblies and part names across 91% of vehicles from 58 manufacturers. The company claims body shops using Interpreter process orders nine times faster and reduce returns by a factor of 2.4. The Series B round was led by DST Global Advisors, an early backer of Anthropic, Meta and Airbnb. Partly is targeting the US collision repair market, valued at over $100 billion across roughly 250,000 repairers.

Partly, a New Zealand auto parts software company, has raised $90 million in a Series B round, valuing the startup at $900 million. The funding places the company just short of the $1 billion valuation needed for unicorn status. Co-founder and chief executive Levi Fawcett said the company kept the capital raise confidential whilst gaining market traction.