Sheryl Sandberg has spearheaded a $10 million investment in Self Inspection, a startup located in San Diego, which also receives support from Jon McNeill, former president of Tesla, through DVx Ventures.

Founded in 2021, the startup has been working over the past few years to revolutionize the vehicle inspection process by enabling an accurate assessment of body damage using nothing more than a smartphone camera. Self Inspection informed TechCrunch that it has already conducted over 1 million vehicle inspections for rental fleets, automotive finance institutions, auctions, and marketplaces, with Stellantis’ financial arm utilizing the platform for inspections of corporate-owned vehicles and lease terminations.

“The most significant technology companies emerge by transforming large, critical industries that are poised for change,” Sandberg stated in a comment to TechCrunch. “Vehicle condition impacts billions of dollars in automotive decisions annually, yet the data is still scattered. That is about to change. We are confident that Self Inspection will create the essential system of record for the automotive sector.”

The funding round was predominantly led by her family office, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, alongside strategic investments from U.S. AutoForce, a tire distributor, and Westlake Financial, an automotive lender. Early-stage investors such as Costanoa Ventures, Rebellion Ventures, and BrightCap Ventures were also participants.

Self Inspection is among several startups aiming to utilize AI to modernize the automotive landscape. Toma and Flai are working on enhancing dealership communications through voice agents, while BidBus enables dealerships to bid on privately owned vehicles competitively.

Other companies like UVeye have adopted a more comprehensive, infrastructure-level strategy to upgrade vehicle inspections.

However, a core aspect of Self Inspection’s appeal is its straightforwardness. The company markets its software to clients like Stellantis, which allows them to send a link to anyone with a smartphone to upload car photos. Self Inspection’s platform directs the user through the process to ensure comprehensive coverage of the vehicle.

The business is essentially capitalizing on the fact that “everyone has access to a capable camera” and “can take pictures,” CEO Constantine Yaremtso stated to TechCrunch last year.

Subsequently, the photos are matched against what Self Inspection refers to as “one of the largest datasets of damaged vehicles” to identify the presence and extent of any harm. Following this, the startup’s software generates a cost estimation along with a detailed inspection report.

“What we provide is actually a thoroughly detailed PDF report that you would typically only receive from a body shop, outlining what labor is necessary for the damage, how much repairs will cost, how many parts are needed, etc.,” Yaremtso remarked. He further noted that Self Inspection can also gather data from an OBD2 computer for even more comprehensive insights.

Self Inspection informed TechCrunch that its platform has already assisted clients in cutting costs by over $80 million and saving more than 300,000 operational hours. The startup intends to utilize the new funding to develop more products, reach additional enterprise customers, and expand into Europe.