Last week, Pinewood.AI announced its intention to acquire the outstanding 90.9 per cent of the share capital of Seez, an automotive AI & ML SaaS platform. The deal, which follows Pinewood.AI’s $4.2 million strategic investment in Seez made in September 2024, will complete mid-March 2025.
Following completion of the acquisition, worth around £33.3million, Pinewood Automotive Intelligence™ will own 100 per cent of the share capital of Seez, which is currently based in Dubai.
Bill Berman, Chief Executive Officer of Pinewood.AI, commented: “Since making our strategic investment in Seez last year, we have made strong progress together and the full acquisition of the business is a compelling opportunity to build on this early success. Seez is an outstanding company that has developed highly sophisticated AI and machine learning products that are increasingly critical tools for the automotive retail market and they are highly complementary to our own Automotive Intelligence Platform.
“This transaction supports the delivery of the strategy we set out in October 2024 and it will significantly enhance our customer proposition.”
The business move enhances Pinewood.AI’s in-house capabilities, particularly in the development and deployment of AI chatbots for customer service and sales support, proprietary AI and ML modules for vehicle appraisal and inventory management, and AI-powered digital marketing tools.
With 80 per cent of North American car dealers already utilising AI tools, the acquisition better positions Pinewood to meet the demands of North American dealers and enables the company to bring the latest technology to international markets. In addition, the acquisition means that Pinewood will be well-placed to drive the roll-out and adoption of AI tools in Pinewood’s home market.
Seez, which was established in 2016, offers a broad product portfolio which includes its AI Chatbot, SaaS modules and a suite of e-commerce and omnichannel products, to leading automotive dealer groups across the globe. The business has built an established and growing Tier 1 enterprise customer base that is comprised of automotive dealers, OEMs, online auto classifieds players and has signed partnerships with leading Finance & Insurance providers and automotive SaaS platforms across the globe.
Tarek Kabrit, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Seez, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Pinewood.AI at such a pivotal moment in the automotive industry. By combining our advanced AI-driven solutions with Pinewood’s proprietary data and deep dealer integrations, we are creating a next-generation platform that will empower dealerships with smarter, more efficient tools to drive growth. This acquisition not only accelerates Pinewood.AI’s expansion into the North American market but also enables us to collectively redefine how dealers interact with technology, streamline operations, and enhance customer experiences. The future of automotive retail is intelligent, autonomous, and data-driven—together, and we couldn’t have asked for a better partner to make that future a reality.”
The acquisition fully aligns with Pinewood’s technology and strategic roadmap, as outlined at its Capital Markets Day in October 2024, which you can watch back here.
