Yc-backed Garage Raises $13.5m To Help Firefighters Buy Equipment

A firefighter since property 15, Martin Hunt, now 26, knew firsthand nan symptom of mini communities pinch tight budgets buying occurrence equipment.

One time successful 2023, he recovered himself chatting pinch 1 of his firefighter friends who’d asked if Hunt knew of a amended way. 

“When I couldn’t find anything, it became clear that location was a request for a streamlined, nationwide marketplace for expensive, hard-to-move instrumentality for illustration firetrucks,” Hunt told TechCrunch. “A fewer months later, I near my occupation pinch nary merchandise aliases backing to build nan solution.”

He teamed up pinch assemblage friend Alaz Sengul and launched Garage, a marketplace that sells specialized instrumentality commonly utilized successful section governments and nationalist safety. It automates astir of what utilized to beryllium a manual process, specified arsenic appraisal, freight quotes, and costs solutions. 

“Many of our customers are civilian servants, firefighters, fleet managers, and nationalist activity board who don’t person nan administrative bandwidth to woody pinch endless paperwork and logistical coordination,” Hunt, who is nan company’s CEO, said. Sengul serves arsenic CTO. 

The institution announced connected Wednesday a $13.5 cardinal Series A led by Infinity Ventures. 

Right now, Hunt said, occurrence departments dangle connected online auction places for illustration GovDeals, Facebook groups, aliases even, still, classified newspaper ads, to find instrumentality if they are looking to bargain antecedently owned gear.

At nan aforesaid time, cities are trying to waste aged instrumentality to raise money for caller supplies. Hunt said galore communities couldn’t waste nationwide, either, because trading a occurrence motortruck to a purchaser thousands of miles distant often proved difficult logistically.

Garage’s nationwide merchandise level useful for illustration this: Sellers usage Garage’s AI instrumentality to appraise their equipment. Then, it lists nan product, offering either an auction aliases “buy now” format. Buyers connection nan seller, requesting instant quotes for things for illustration warranty and freight. After an statement is met, Garage handles nan backend and uses AI to thief coordinate nan delivery. 

“With transactions of this size, often times greater than $100,000, information is simply a awesome concern, particularly pinch nan number of scammers that lurk connected platforms for illustration Facebook marketplace,” Hunt added. 

He described nan fundraising process arsenic “catalytic,” and said he and Sengul met their lead investors aft participating successful YC’s Winter 24 cohort. The founders raised a $4.5 cardinal seed information by Initialized Capital, past aft were introduced to Infinity Ventures.

Others successful nan information see Benchstrength, Wayfinder Ventures, and FJ Labs. The institution has raised $18 cardinal to date. 

The caller superior will beryllium utilized to grow nan squad and nan marketplace. Hunt said nan merchandise is presently utilized successful each 50 states, naming cities for illustration Burlington, Virginia, and South Charleston, West Virginia, arsenic clients. 

“We dream that improving entree to affordable, mission-critical instrumentality improves nationalist information successful nan areas that request it most, while allowing costs to spell further and enactment successful nan hands of those serving our section communities,” Hunt said.