TechCrunch Startup News Eclipse backs all-EV marketplace Ever in $31M funding round
Feb 16, 2026
A startup built an AI-native marketplace to simplify buying and selling used electric cars. It just closed a $31M funding round led by Eclipse and plans to scale with an AI orchestration layer. Founders argue retrofitting AI into old systems falls short. The company pairs an online marketplace with physical locations and wrestles with early user feedback and softer EV demand.
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AI-First Orchestration Replaces Patchwork Tools
- Ever built an AI-native orchestration layer to handle the many deterministic steps in auto retail transactions.
- Les Matthias Nyberg says this unified system removes micro-frictions and boosts sales productivity two- to three-fold.
Don’t Bolt AI Onto Old Processes
- Avoid tack-on AI features as a modernization strategy for auto retail.
- Design systems ground-up with agentic AI to truly remove process friction, Jaten Bell recommends.
CoreTech Serves As An Auto Retail OS
- Ever's CoreTech acts as an operating system managing pricing, appraisals, titling and inventory workflows.
- Nyberg claims this approach increases rep productivity and either raises margins or funds lower prices for buyers.