Bidbus Raises $15 Million to Let Dealers Bid Against Each Other for Used Cars
Bidbus raised $15M in a July 2026 Series A to expand its real-time used-car auction where dealers get only a few hours to submit competing bids, with offers averaging $2,000–$3,000 more than Carvana even after Bidbus’s cut. Led by Ibex Investors with Mucker Capital, FJ Labs and others, the Los Angeles startup previously operated only in California and Texas.
Los Angeles-based startup Bidbus has raised $15 million in a Series A funding round to expand its digital marketplace, where car dealerships compete in real-time auctions to buy used vehicles from private sellers. The round, announced in July 2026, was led by early-stage mobility fund Ibex Investors, with additional participation from Mucker Capital, FJ Labs, Motley Fool Ventures, Data Point Capital, Walter Ventures, and investor Yossi Levi of Car Dealership Guy.
The platform works by accepting a seller’s car listing, then giving dealers only a few hours to submit competing bids. Live offers are displayed in real time with large font, and Bidbus founders say the competitive process results in offers averaging $2,000 to $3,000 more than what services like Carvana typically pay — even after Bidbus takes its cut.
Co-founder and CEO Duke Yan said the idea came from personal experience. When helping his mother sell her car, he found dealer offers were unusually low, so he put them in a group chat. Dealers began bidding the price up. “Used-car affordability is not a financing problem. It’s a market efficiency problem,” Yan told TechCrunch. “Consumers lack real price discovery for trade-ins, dealers struggle to source quality inventory, and much of the best supply is still trapped in people’s driveways.”
Bidbus previously operated only in California and Texas. The new funding is intended to support expansion into additional markets. The company has facilitated roughly 10,000 car sales to date and has signed dealership groups including Lithia Motors and Penske Automotive.
Ibex partner Jeff Peters, who led the investment, said he passed on Bidbus’ seed round when the company was limited to Los Angeles but moved forward once it demonstrated growth across multiple markets. “Some of the most durable business models are marketplaces,” Peters said, adding that the platform delivers value to both consumers and dealers by improving access to quality used-car inventory.