Fortellis
Fortellis is an automotive commerce exchange platform, owned by CDK Global, that connects dealerships, OEMs, software developers, lenders, and data providers through a marketplace of 425+ apps and 135+ APIs serving 35,000+ active dealer subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersHoffman Estates, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Fortellis does
Fortellis is an open automotive commerce exchange platform that operates as a two-sided marketplace connecting automotive dealerships with software developers, OEMs, lenders, and data providers. Founded in 2018 and operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of CDK Global (a leading automotive retail technology provider with over $2 billion in revenue serving approximately 28,000 retail locations across more than 100 countries), Fortellis is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois and supports 82,000+ dealer integrations. The platform's core technical offering consists of a Developer Network exposing 135+ published APIs (with OAuth 2.0 authentication and structured certification workflows), an App Marketplace with 425+ certified applications, and a developer community forum with hackathon-style engagement events.
The platform monetizes primarily through marketplace transaction fees derived from API usage and app subscriptions, supplemented by fee-based Professional Services for integration consulting. Distribution occurs through self-service developer onboarding (PLG-style) for software vendors and embedded distribution via CDK Drive DMS for enterprise dealers. Supporting capabilities include the DevCare Portal (unified support), AIVA for Fortellis (an AI-powered documentation assistant), Field Filtering/Management for data governance, and notable sub-brands such as Hailer (a Lyft-powered ride-sharing solution for dealership service customers). Marketing and developer relations rely on content marketing, (dev)day hackathons, community forums, GitHub open-source contributions, and an annual NADA conference presence.
Fortellis employs 51-100 people and supports 35,000+ active dealer subscriptions and 6.7 billion+ annual API transactions. Recent platform enhancements (Guided Certification, Professional Services, AIVA, DevCare Portal, Field Filtering) ship on a roughly annual cadence tied to NADA and CDK CONNECT industry events. The company has no external equity funding, no reported M&A activity, and no leadership changes documented in the input, indicating stable strategic direction under the CDK Global umbrella.
Fortellis firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fortellis
- Legal name
- CDK Global, LLC
- Website
- https://fortellis.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Fortellis is an automotive commerce exchange platform, owned by CDK Global, that connects dealerships, OEMs, software developers, lenders, and data providers through a marketplace of 425+ apps and 135+ APIs serving 35,000+ active dealer subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fortellis industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Automotive Commerce Platform
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Payment Gateways & Orchestration (BPAMAFAA)
Keywords
Where Fortellis is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hoffman Estates
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Fortellis business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Marketplace Platform Fees: Fortellis operates as a platform/marketplace connecting app publishers (developers/ISVs) with consumers (dealers, OEMs). Revenue is derived from transaction fees on API usage and app subscriptions published through the marketplace, with over 425 apps and 6.7B+ annual API transactions indicating significant transaction volume.
- Professional Services: Consulting services helping developers integrate with the Fortellis platform, including Discovery and Design, Integration Support, and Workflow Optimization. These are fee-based services providing personalized guidance from Fortellis experts.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Fortellis product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fortellis is an open automotive commerce exchange platform that connects automotive dealers, OEMs, software developers (ISVs), lenders, and data providers through a standardized API infrastructure and app marketplace. The platform enables developers to build, certify, and publish APIs and apps once, then distribute them across CDK Global's network of 82,000+ dealer integrations, while dealerships subscribe to and integrate third-party solutions to reduce technology fragmentation in their operations.
Product overview
Fortellis is an open automotive commerce exchange platform that connects dealers, OEMs, software developers, lenders and data providers. The platform consists of three core components: the Developer Network (API Directory with 135+ published APIs and developer tools), the App Marketplace (425+ apps for automotive solutions), and the Developer Community (forum for collaboration). Supporting offerings include Professional Services (consulting for integration support), the DevCare Portal (unified support), AIVA for Fortellis (AI-powered knowledge retrieval), and Field Filtering/Management (data control). Notable sub-brands include Hailer (ride-sharing app integrated with CDK Drive via Lyft) and the Cartender Model Video API. The platform processes over 6.7 billion API transactions annually across 82,000+ dealer integrations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DevCare Portal: Developer support portal with ticketing system, knowledge base, and migration workflows.
- AIVA for Fortellis
- Hailer
- Fortellis Professional Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Published on Fortellis within 24 hours for new developers
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Fortellis
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Fortellis technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
Fortellis partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.
- LinkOnecoreLinkOne joined Fortellis Marketplace as a first-party data ingestion and audience activation CDP. The platform connects to all major automotive CRMs and DMSs, leveraging dealer first-party data to drive audience engagement and faster campaign lift. LinkOne provides complete reporting and attribution of media dollars to units moved.
- AutoFicoreAutoFi agreed to consume digital retailing APIs from Fortellis platform. AutoFi brings a fully-automated Finance and Insurance (F&I) platform providing dealers with digital shopping experience powered by real-time lender connectivity and offers. Omni-channel integration enables dealers to offer lending options through websites, in-store tablets, and phone.
- Equifax Inc.coreEquifax is one of the inaugural publishers on Fortellis, contributing multiple APIs including credit profile APIs for personalized solutions, InstaTouch for consumer authentication and prefilling, and payment calculator APIs. Equifax published APIs in less than five business days.
- CDK GlobalflagshipFortellis is founded and owned by CDK Global, a leading global provider of integrated information technology and digital marketing solutions to the automotive retail industry. CDK Global provides over $2 billion in revenues and serves approximately 28,000 retail locations in more than 100 countries. Fortellis operates as CDK's open platform for automotive commerce innovation.
- LyftcoreLyft partnership powers Hailer, a ridesharing app for car dealers available exclusively on Fortellis. Hailer integrates Lyft within CDK Drive Service, allowing dealers to arrange rides for service customers directly from repair orders. The partnership includes Lyft Lux for luxury dealer requirements.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Fortellis competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- VinSolutions (Cox Automotive): VinSolutions is a leading automotive CRM and dealer engagement platform owned by Cox Automotive, competing with the Fortellis-connected dealer software stack on CRM, marketing, and integration.
- Dealertrack (Cox Automotive): Dealertrack provides dealer management, DMS, and lender connectivity, directly overlapping with Fortellis' core dealer integration and digital retailing API surface area.
- Tekion: Tekion is a cloud-native dealer management system and automotive retail platform that competes with CDK and Fortellis by offering a unified CRM, DMS, and integration ecosystem for dealerships.
- RapidAPI: RapidAPI is a general-purpose API marketplace where developers publish and consumers subscribe to APIs, sharing Fortellis' core marketplace business model though not its automotive specialization.
- Cox Automotive: Cox Automotive is a major automotive retail technology group (parent of Dealertrack, VinSolutions, Kelley Blue Book) that operates a competing integration platform serving dealers, OEMs, and lenders with overlapping API and marketplace capabilities to Fortellis.
Emerging players
- AutoFi: AutoFi is a digital retailing and F&I platform that consumes Fortellis APIs but also operates its own dealer and lender integrations, making it a partner-competitor in the same automotive commerce exchange space.
- Podium: Podium is a customer communication and messaging platform with a strong automotive dealer vertical, comparable to Fortellis marketplace apps focused on dealer-customer engagement and operations.
Others
- Stripe Connect: Stripe Connect provides marketplace and platform payment infrastructure, comparable in marketplace-orchestration pattern to Fortellis' transaction-fee platform model, though focused on payments.
Broad incumbents
- MuleSoft (Salesforce): MuleSoft is a leading API management and integration platform owned by Salesforce, comparable to the API infrastructure backbone of Fortellis, though it is horizontal rather than automotive-specific.
- Salesforce AppExchange: AppExchange is the enterprise app marketplace for the Salesforce platform, the closest analog to Fortellis' two-sided app marketplace model at much larger scale and across multiple verticals.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Fortellis social profiles
Digital presenceFortellis financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fortellis leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Fortellis funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fortellis M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fortellis
What does Fortellis do?
Fortellis is an open automotive commerce exchange platform that connects automotive dealers, OEMs, software developers (ISVs), lenders, and data providers through a standardized API infrastructure and app marketplace. The platform enables developers to build, certify, and publish APIs and apps once, then distribute them across CDK Global's network of 82,000+ dealer integrations, while dealerships subscribe to and integrate third-party solutions to reduce technology fragmentation in their operations.
Is Fortellis a public or private company?
Fortellis is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Fortellis founded?
Fortellis was founded in 2018. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Fortellis based?
Fortellis is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fortellis make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Marketplace Platform Fees are the primary driver. The others are professional Services.
Who are Fortellis's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are VinSolutions (Cox Automotive), Dealertrack (Cox Automotive), Tekion, RapidAPI and Cox Automotive. Emerging players are AutoFi and Podium. Stripe Connect is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are MuleSoft (Salesforce) and Salesforce AppExchange.
Does Fortellis have an API?
Yes. Fortellis provides over 135 published APIs and 125 public and private APIs that enable automotive commerce integrations. The platform supports OAuth 2.0 authentication, including Implicit OAuth flow for single-page web apps and native mobile apps. APIs cover domains including CRM, Vehicle Sales, Vehicle Service, Vehicle Data, Communications, Payments, Data, Media, and Async APIs. Fortellis processes over 6.7 billion API transactions per year across 82,000+ dealer integrations. Developer documentation is at apidocs.fortellis.io.
What industry is Fortellis in?
Fortellis's product category is Automotive Commerce Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAFAA, Payment Gateways & Orchestration. Its NAICS code is 54151.