Carbly
Carbly is a Chicago-based subscription SaaS platform that gives licensed US automotive dealers appraisal, auction sourcing, local-market pricing, and inventory management tools by aggregating data from 8+ pricing guides, 300+ auctions, and major DMS/IMS systems into one workflow.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Carbly does
Carbly, operated by Ambient Automotive, Inc. and headquartered in Chicago, is a subscription SaaS market intelligence platform built for licensed automotive dealers in the United States. The platform unifies vehicle appraisal, wholesale auction sourcing, local-market retail pricing, and inventory management into a single workflow accessible via iOS, Android, and desktop, plus a Chrome browser extension that overlays Carbly data on third-party sites. Its core technical architecture is a multi-source data aggregator that pulls from eight pricing guides (Black Book, Manheim Market Report, J.D. Power Values, Kelley Blue Book, Pipeline Market Report, Galves, Real Retail, and a proprietary Live Local Market dataset), three vehicle history providers (CARFAX, AutoCheck, VinTel), and run lists from more than 300 auction locations and digital marketplaces; OCR-based VIN scanning captures vehicle identifiers from barcodes, printed text, handwriting, and screens.
The product is modular. Appraisals combine wholesale, retail, spread, and history into one decision view; Auctions Plus is a unified search and team-collaboration workspace across 300+ auctions; Live Local Market and Market Tracker deliver competitor and regional intelligence for retail pricing; and Lot Sense, the newest module (March 2026), connects to a dealer's DMS, IMS, or website feed and applies an AI-powered Turn Optimizer that models trade-offs between gross profit and inventory turn at the vehicle level. Native two-way integrations with seven DMS/IMS platforms (Frazer, Dealer.com, AutoManager, Dealer Car Search, Wayne Reaves, Cars for Sale, Dealer Center) allow live inventory sync.
Carbly sells on a tiered subscription basis: Market Pro at $193/month, Auction Pro at $342/month, and Inventory Pro at $499/month, with a Custom Plan for build-your-own configurations. All tiers include a 14-day free trial, month-to-month billing with no contracts, and free access for additional team users. The go-to-market is product-led growth via web, mobile, and Chrome extension onboarding, with a phone-based sales team handling enterprise and custom plan inquiries. Target customers span independent used-car dealers, franchise dealers, wholesalers, and auction-buying teams; named customers are predominantly SMBs with a few mid-market and franchise accounts (e.g., Wagner Subaru, Reeds Auto Group). The company was founded in 2018-2019, has 11-50 employees, and has not disclosed external funding.
Carbly firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Carbly
- Legal name
- Ambient Automotive, Inc
- Website
- https://getcarbly.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Carbly is a Chicago-based subscription SaaS platform that gives licensed US automotive dealers appraisal, auction sourcing, local-market pricing, and inventory management tools by aggregating data from 8+ pricing guides, 300+ auctions, and major DMS/IMS systems into one workflow.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Carbly is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Carbly business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Subscription SaaS: Monthly subscription plans (Market Pro $193/mo, Auction Pro $342/mo, Inventory Pro $499/mo) with tiered feature access. Includes 14-day free trial. Month-to-month with no long-term contracts.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Market Pro - Local market pricing intelligence |
| Subscription | Monthly | Auction Pro - Wholesale sourcing with auction search |
| Subscription | Monthly | Inventory Pro - Full inventory management and optimization |
| Subscription | Monthly | Custom Plan - Build your own plan |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Carbly product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Carbly is a SaaS market intelligence platform built for licensed automotive dealers. It combines multi-source vehicle valuations (8+ pricing guides), OCR-based VIN scanning, auction run list aggregation across 300+ locations, local market competitive data, and inventory optimization tools (Lot Sense with Turn Optimizer) into a unified workflow available on iOS, Android, and desktop, plus a Chrome browser extension.
Product overview
Carbly is a unified market intelligence platform for licensed automotive dealers, combining appraisal tools, auction sourcing, local market pricing, and inventory management across a modular architecture. The core Carbly App (iOS, Android, and desktop) serves as the central platform, which dealers configure with optional pricing guide subscriptions (Black Book, Manheim Market Report, Pipeline Market Report, J.D. Power Values, Kelley Blue Book, Galves, Real Retail) and module add-ons (VIN Scanner, Appraisals, Auctions Plus, Lot Sense with Turn Optimizer, Live Local Market, Market Tracker, Carbly for Teams, Browser Extension). Pricing plans include Market Pro ($193/month), Auction Pro ($342/month), and Inventory Pro ($499/month), plus a Custom Plan starting at $55/month, all with a 14-day free trial. The platform integrates with major DMS/IMS systems (Frazer, Dealer.com, AutoManager, Dealer Car Search, Wayne Reaves, Cars for Sale, Dealer Center) and vehicle history providers (CARFAX, AutoCheck, VinTel). Turn Optimizer uses AI to optimize the balance between gross profit and inventory turn.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Carbly Platform (App + Desktop) Core unified market intelligence platform for licensed automotive dealers, combining appraisal tools, auction sourcing, local market pricing, and inventory management. Available on iOS, Android, and desktop with cross-device data sync.
- VIN Scanner Mobile and desktop VIN scanning tool using OCR text recognition, Code 39 and Code 128 barcode scanning, and clipboard import to capture VINs from printed text, handwriting, screens, and dashboards, then instantly load vehicle configuration, trim, appraisal data, and integrated history reports.
- Appraisals Vehicle appraisal module combining multiple data sources (guide values, wholesale data, retail comps, vehicle history, and deal math) into a single workflow to help dealers value vehicles with confidence for buying and selling decisions.
- Auctions Plus Unified auction search and vehicle sourcing module enabling dealers to search and evaluate vehicles from over 300 auction locations and digital marketplaces (Manheim, ADESA, EDGE Pipeline, SmartAuction, OVE, Manheim Express, EBlock) from a single workspace, with unlimited saved searches, profit potential filtering, team sharing, and integrated Carbly pricing context.
- Lot Sense AI-powered inventory management module with Turn Optimizer, regional unit comparisons, lot performance analytics, virtual lot exploration, and proactive notifications. Connects to DMS/IMS/website feeds to monitor inventory health, pricing, aging risk, and turnover optimization for active dealership inventory.
- Live Local Market Local market intelligence module showing mileage-adjusted suggested retail prices, active local comps with price/mileage/days-on-lot/distance, interactive map view, trim details, price trend data, and competitor vehicle listings within a dealer-defined radius to support vehicle-level retail pricing decisions.
- Market Tracker Regional retail intelligence module providing dealer performance comparisons, model-specific vehicle sales trends, inventory level tracking by region, competitive dealer rankings, supply and demand signals, and market movement data. Available on Carbly desktop platform.
- Carbly for Teams Dealership collaboration module enabling shared vehicle lists, watchlists, photos, notes, and an activity feed across team members. Supports full-access users and non-appraisal users with different permission levels. Free for all accounts with more than one user.
- Browser Extension Chrome browser extension that automatically finds VINs on any webpage and overlays Carbly market data directly in the browser without switching tools. Available for installation from the Chrome Web Store.
- Black Book (Integrated Pricing Guide) Wholesale and retail pricing guide integrated within Carbly providing wholesale values, retail values, spread data, original MSRP, option-specific MSRP, and mileage/condition adjustments for vehicle appraisals.
- Manheim Market Report (MMR) (Integrated Pricing Guide) Premier wholesale price indicator based on over 10 million sales transactions from the previous 13 months, including historical wholesale price trends, retail projections, auction averages, mileage data, and integrated Manheim auction run list support.
- Pipeline Market Report (Integrated Pricing Guide) Auction-driven vehicle pricing guide using daily-updated transaction data from over 50,000 weekly sales at 175+ independent auctions via Auction Edge, offering mileage-adjusted sale prices, VIN-specific sale comps, condition reports, and historical price trend lines.
- J.D. Power Values (Integrated Pricing Guide) Comprehensive market valuation guide (formerly NADA Used Car Guide) providing loan, trade-in, auction, and retail values with JDP VIN Precision+ automatic trim decoding and vehicle option selections, used as the standard for lender underwriting.
- Kelley Blue Book (Integrated Pricing Guide) Consumer-known pricing guide offering fair purchase price, auction spread, private party values, typical listing price, CPO pricing, and lending values for wholesale and retail vehicle valuations.
- Galves (Integrated Pricing Guide) Daily-updated wholesale market insight guide delivering trade-in prices, market ready prices, base values with mileage adjustments, and option add/deducts, sourced from thousands of transactions analyzed by remarketing specialists.
- Real Retail (Integrated Pricing Guide) Historical retail transaction data sourced from approximately 50% of U.S. dealers (approximately 3 million transactions), providing mileage-adjusted retail sale prices, median days on lot, average profit per unit, and individual vehicle comps for retail pricing strategy.
Quantifiable outcome
- Saves massive amounts of time every week while maximizing profit on every transaction
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Carbly
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Carbly technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
AI capability5 records
Feature6 records
Carbly partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Black BookcoreBlack Book® is an independent wholesale and retail price guide providing actionable intelligence and accurate car value data for both wholesale and retail markets. Carbly provides Black Book wholesale, retail, spread, MSRP, and option add/deduct data.
- Manheim Market ReportcoreManheim Market Report is the premier indicator of wholesale prices with data from millions of transactions. Provides historical wholesale price trends, wholesale & retail projections, number of auctions included, and average mileage.
- J.D. Power ValuescoreFormerly NADA. Comprising wholesale, trade-in, loan and retail data. Standard for lenders to reference when underwriting loans. Includes VIN Precision+ for automatic trim decoding.
- Kelley Blue BookcoreOne of the most trusted names in automotive providing comprehensive data for wholesale and retail. Provides fair purchase price, private party, typical listing price, CPO values, and lending value.
- Pipeline Market Report (Auction Edge)coreIndustry's first pricing guide driven solely by timely, independent auction sale data. Created from 50,000+ weekly vehicle sales at 175+ independent auctions with daily transaction updates.
- CARFAXcoreVehicle history reports integrated into Carbly platform. Summary shows status for damage, frame damage, branded title, accidents, major problems and number of previous owners.
- Real Retail (J.D. Power)coreProvides historical retail transaction comp data from approximately 50% of US dealers (~3 million transactions). Shows actual retail prices being achieved after negotiations.
- Market TrackercoreLocal retail intelligence providing dealer performance comparisons, vehicle sales trends analysis, and vehicle inventory levels tracking. Regional supply, demand, competitor rankings, and turn visibility.
- Live Local MarketcoreProvides extremely detailed data for immediate retail market including mileage-adjusted suggested retail price, local comps with asking price, mileage, distance, price changes, median days on lot.
- ADESAcoreMajor auction provider with run lists integrated into Carbly. Available on desktop with auction vehicle listings and condition reports.
- SmartAuctioncoreAuction provider with vehicle listings available in Carbly. Free run list data included for all users.
- EBlockcoreAuction provider with run lists integrated into Carbly. Included in auction search coverage.
- ManheimcoreMajor auction provider with full integration including Manheim Express, run lists, condition reports, photos, and seller comments. Free run list data for all Manheim locations.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Carbly competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Autotrader: Cox Automotive's consumer-facing auto marketplace with dealer tools. A broader incumbent in dealer marketing and listings; adjacent to Carbly's market intelligence stack.
- Cars.com: Major US automotive marketplace with dealer listings and dealer software extensions. Indirect competitor to Carbly's market intelligence for retailer pricing decisions.
- Dealertrack: Cox Automotive's broader dealer technology suite spanning DMS, lending, and inventory. Broader incumbent that competes with Carbly at the dealer-IT level across multiple modules.
Others
- Manheim: Major US auto auction provider and a core data partner for Carbly (run lists and Manheim Market Report). Not a direct product competitor, but ecosystem partner whose wholesale data underpins Carbly's Auctions Plus and appraisal modules.
Direct peers
- Tekion: Cloud-native automotive retail platform (DMS + CRM + dealer tools). Competes with Carbly in dealership software, inventory management, and integrated pricing intelligence.
- VinSolutions: Cox Automotive's dealer CRM and inventory platform; competes directly with Carbly's appraisal, desking-style workflows, and team collaboration features for franchise and independent dealers.
- Roadster: Modern automotive retail OS for dealers; offers inventory, desking, and CRM. Overlaps with Carbly's Lot Sense, appraisal, and team collaboration modules.
- PureCars: Dealer inventory intelligence and digital marketing platform for automotive retailers. Comparable to Carbly's Live Local Market and Market Tracker offerings for pricing and turn optimization.
- vAuto: Cox Automotive subsidiary; provides inventory pricing and management intelligence software for franchised and independent auto dealers. Closest direct competitor to Carbly's appraisal, Live Local Market, and Lot Sense modules.
- LotLinx: Automotive digital advertising and inventory merchandising platform; helps dealers promote VINs online. Adjacent to Carbly's pricing/competitive intelligence layer for retail inventory.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Carbly social profiles
Digital presenceCarbly financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Carbly leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Carbly funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Carbly 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 Carbly
What does Carbly do?
Carbly is a SaaS market intelligence platform built for licensed automotive dealers. It combines multi-source vehicle valuations (8+ pricing guides), OCR-based VIN scanning, auction run list aggregation across 300+ locations, local market competitive data, and inventory optimization tools (Lot Sense with Turn Optimizer) into a unified workflow available on iOS, Android, and desktop, plus a Chrome browser extension.
Is Carbly a public or private company?
Carbly is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Carbly founded?
Carbly was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Carbly based?
Carbly is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Carbly make money?
One revenue line is on record: subscription SaaS.
Who are Carbly's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Autotrader, Cars.com and Dealertrack. Manheim is listed as an others. Direct peers are Tekion, VinSolutions, Roadster, PureCars, vAuto and LotLinx.
Does Carbly have an API?
No public API is recorded for Carbly.