What Drivly does

Drivly, operating commercially as Auto.dev, is a Miami-based developer-first API platform that consolidates fragmented automotive data into a single programmatic interface. Founded in 2021, the company exposes 12+ API products organized into four categories: Core (Global VIN Decode, Plate-to-VIN, Specifications, OEM Build Data), Marketplace (Vehicle Listings, Vehicle Photos), Financial (Interest Rates, Vehicle Payments, Taxes & Fees, Total Cost of Ownership), and Safety (Vehicle Recalls, Open Recalls, sourced from NHTSA). The platform serves developers, AI builders, automotive industry participants, and financial services firms that need reliable, programmatic access to vehicle identification, pricing, recall, and ownership-cost data.

The technical surface is designed for both human developers and AI agents. Distribution is delivered through a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, a command-line interface (CLI), and a JavaScript SDK distributed as a single npm package (@auto.dev/sdk). The MCP server and SDK are natively integrated with major AI coding and agent platforms — Claude Code, OpenClaw, Cursor, Codex, GitHub Copilot, and more than 40 additional agents — enabling natural-language and tool-use workflows over automotive data. The company claims 1M+ API calls per day, 7,000+ developers, and 2,000+ projects built on the platform, with documentation and a GitHub presence (auto-dev-skill) as primary distribution assets.

Drivly monetizes through a usage-based, freemium pricing model with a free tier plus Growth and Scale paid plans and overage handling. The go-to-market is product-led growth: self-serve sign-up, instant API key delivery, and SDK-based onboarding with no enterprise sales motion disclosed. The company is privately held, has 1-10 employees, and is led by co-founder/CEO Bryant Skarda and founder/CTO Nathan Clevenger. One funding round with Expansion Venture Capital and Forum Ventures is recorded (2023); no further capital, revenue, or headcount data is disclosed.

Name

Drivly

Legal name

Drivly

Website

https://driv.ly

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Drivly (Auto.dev) is a Miami-based developer-first API platform consolidating automotive data — VIN/spec, listings, NHTSA recalls, financing rates, taxes, and total cost of ownership — into one MCP-enabled interface for AI agents and developers, monetized via usage-based freemium pricing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Automotive Data APIs

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Developer Tools & DevOps Platform Services (CI/CD, Artifacts, IaC) (HDABAAAI), Developer Experience Platforms for Enterprise (IDEs, CI/CD, Dev Portals) (HDAEAKAI), Developer Experience (DevEx) Tooling & Productivity Engineering (BPAEAKAM)

Keywords

• Automotive data APIs
• VIN decoding API
• Vehicle listings API
• Automotive AI agents
• Developer API platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. API Usage Revenue: Usage-based pricing model where developers pay for API calls. Free tier available with usage limits, then Growth and Scale paid plans for higher volume.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Drivly operates Auto.dev, a developer-first API platform that consolidates fragmented automotive data (VIN decoding, vehicle specifications, real-time listings, photos, recalls, payments, taxes, and total cost of ownership) into a unified set of REST APIs, an MCP server, a CLI, and a JavaScript SDK. The platform is purpose-built for AI agents and software developers building automotive applications, with native compatibility across Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, GitHub Copilot, OpenClaw, and 40+ other AI coding tools via a single npm install.

Product overview

Auto.dev by Drivly is a unified API platform offering automotive data products organized into Core APIs (Global VIN Decode, Plate-to-VIN, Specifications, OEM Build Data), Marketplace APIs (Vehicle Listings, Vehicle Photos), and Financial/Safety APIs (Interest Rates, Vehicle Payments, Vehicle Recalls, Open Recalls, Taxes & Fees, Total Cost of Ownership). The platform provides an MCP server, CLI, and JavaScript SDK enabling AI agents to perform automotive operations including VIN decoding, vehicle search, recall checks, and payment calculations. All products are accessible via a unified API with over 1 million API calls per day serving 7,000+ developers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Global VIN Decode API REST API that decodes any Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to retrieve comprehensive vehicle data including year, make, model, and detailed vehicle attributes. Used by developers and AI agents building automotive applications that need to identify and retrieve vehicle specifications from VIN inputs.
• Plate-to-VIN API API that decodes US license plates to retrieve the associated VIN along with year, make, model, and other vehicle information. Targets US-based automotive applications needing plate-to-vehicle lookup.
• Specifications API API providing detailed technical specifications, features, and options for any vehicle model. Used by developers building automotive tools that require comprehensive vehicle feature and configuration data.
• OEM Build Data API API providing original equipment manufacturer build data and production information for vehicles. Used by automotive industry professionals who need authoritative factory build sheet and production details.
• Vehicle Listings API Marketplace API providing access to millions of active vehicle listings with real-time pricing and availability data. Used by automotive marketplaces, dealers, and developers building vehicle search and inventory applications.
• Vehicle Photos API Marketplace API providing high-quality vehicle images and photo galleries for listings and inventory purposes. Used by automotive platforms that need standardized vehicle imagery for their catalogs and search experiences.
• Interest Rates API Financial API providing real-time automotive financing rates and lending information. Used by lenders, fintechs, and financial applications needing up-to-date auto loan rates.
• Vehicle Payments API Financial API for calculating monthly payments, financing options, and payment estimates. Used by lenders, dealers, and automotive finance platforms to deliver payment quotes to end users.
• Vehicle Recalls API Safety API providing vehicle safety recalls, service bulletins, and manufacturer notifications sourced from NHTSA data. Used by automotive platforms that need to surface recall information to consumers or downstream systems.
• Open Recalls API Safety API providing active and unresolved vehicle recall information from NHTSA. Used by dealers, inspection services, and consumer-facing applications that need to identify vehicles with outstanding (unrepaired) recalls.
• Taxes & Fees API Financial API providing registration fees, taxes, and location-specific vehicle costs. Used by dealers, lenders, and automotive commerce platforms that need jurisdiction-specific fee and tax calculations.
• Total Cost of Ownership API Financial API providing comprehensive vehicle ownership costs including depreciation, maintenance, and operating expenses. Used by consumers, dealers, lenders, and analysts evaluating the long-term economics of vehicle ownership.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AI Agent Ecosystem (Claude Code, OpenClaw, Cursor, Codex, Copilot + 40+ agents)coreTechnology or IntegrationAuto.dev SDK provides native integration with major AI coding agents and platforms including Claude Code, OpenClaw, Cursor, Codex, and Copilot, plus 40+ additional AI agents. Single npm install (@auto.dev/sdk) enables all Auto.dev automotive APIs to work with any supported agent.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• VinAudit: VinAudit provides vehicle history and VIN decoding data via API and web products, including market value and ownership cost. It competes with Auto.dev's VIN Decode, Specifications, and Total Cost of Ownership APIs for the same developer and SMB customer base.
• Marketcheck: Marketcheck provides automotive marketplace data APIs for vehicle listings, pricing, and dealer inventory — overlapping directly with Auto.dev's Vehicle Listings and Vehicle Photos products for dealership and aggregator customers.
• CarsXE: CarsXE offers a similar suite of automotive data APIs covering VIN decoding, specifications, market value, recalls, and plates. It is the most direct head-to-head competitor to Auto.dev, targeting developers and businesses integrating vehicle data.

Broad incumbents

• AutoTrader (Cox Automotive UK): AutoTrader is a leading automotive marketplace with associated data products and API access for dealers. It competes broadly with Auto.dev's listings and pricing APIs, especially for dealership and aggregator customers in markets where AutoTrader is dominant.
• Cox Automotive (Dealertrack/AutoIMS): Cox Automotive is the largest provider of dealer software, listings, and vehicle data services in the US. Its Dealertrack and vAuto platforms bundle automotive data APIs and dealer relationships that compete with Auto.dev at the enterprise/aggregator tier.
• Edmunds (API/TMV): Edmunds offers automotive data including True Market Value pricing, specs, and reviews, with API access for partners. It is a broad incumbent in vehicle data whose automotive APIs compete with Auto.dev's pricing, specs, and TCO offerings as part of a much larger consumer/editorial business.
• Cars.com: Cars.com operates a major vehicle listings marketplace with data partnerships and dealer software products. Its listings and pricing data offerings overlap with Auto.dev's marketplace APIs, but at a much larger scale and bundled with consumer traffic.
• CarGurus: CarGurus is a large automotive marketplace and listings platform that exposes dealer-facing data and pricing tools. It competes with Auto.dev's marketplace/listing APIs as part of a broader consumer and dealer software portfolio.

Regional players

• Vincario: Vincario is a European-based VIN decoding and vehicle data API provider with global coverage. It is a regional/emerging competitor to Auto.dev in international markets where Auto.dev's presence is less established.

Others

• Racing-Transactions / NHTSA APIs (gov): The NHTSA public recall and VIN API is a free upstream data source that Auto.dev resurfaces. It represents a baseline alternative for developers and a supply-side dependency — competitors could replicate Auto.dev's recall products by querying this public API directly.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/drivly/auto-dev-skill
• Xx.com/Drivly

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drivly