Driving the news: Cox Automotive is acquiring Fullpath, an AI customer data platform, in a deal expected to close within 30 days. The announcement came on April 23.
For context: Although legal constraints prevented the company executives from sharing too much before the closing, both offered some insight during a recent episode of Daily Dealer Live, hosted by Sam D’Arc.
Why they did it: Cox Automotive president Stephen Rowley said the decision came down to dealer profitability, technology and innovation, and AI.
“Fullpath is all about AI, agentic AI,” Rowley said. “The great thing I love about them is they’re AI first—they’re a native AI origination, and really grew the business that way. They’re not being retrofitted from any sort.”
Fullpath aims to solve the fragmented customer data problem.
“If it's sitting on data that is fragmented, disjointed, duplicative, then you're going to get poor results when it comes to actually activating,” said Aharon Horwitz, CEO and co-founder of Fullpath.
What they’re saying: Horwitz tied this moment for customer data platforms to the shift in online inventory and pricing. He said to think about the transition from offline to online.
"When there were dealers who did not have inventory online, they fell behind," Horwitz said. "The dealers that did, those that did not have pricing online, they fell behind…"
The implication, Horwitz said, is that this isn't a "wait and see" moment. "It's an industry-wide moment where everyone has to sit down and say, 'What's my data strategy? How do I get my data house in order so that I can layer the AI on it and really activate and fly."
Worth mentioning: Rowley said the merger won’t affect Fullpath’s innovation.
“You never pull back on a racehorse,” Rowley said. “I want the Ferrari on the raceway, not in traffic."
OUTSMART THE CAR MARKET IN 5 MINUTES A WEEK
Get insights trusted by 55,000+ car dealers. Free, fast, and built for automotive leaders.
Why it matters: Dealers can use this window to check in on their own data situation, see how many duplicate customer records are sitting across CRM, DMS, and email platforms right now, then make sure the group has a plan.
And interested dealers will get more intel soon.
“We'll wait for the close, and then we'll get together, and then we'll come out loud and proud because there's a lot to be excited about here,” Rowley said.
