About Us

Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

Our 80,000 qualified print subscribers—and 130,000 12-month engaged online audience—trust us to dive in and provide original journalism you won’t find elsewhere covering key emerging areas such as laser-driven inertial confinement fusion, lasers in space, integrated photonics, chipscale lasers, LiDAR, metasurfaces, high-energy laser weaponry, photonic crystals, and quantum computing/sensors/communications. We cover the innovations driving these markets.

Laser Focus World is part of Endeavor Business Media, a division of EndeavorB2B.

Laser Focus World Membership

Never miss any articles, videos, podcasts, or webinars by signing up for membership access to Laser Focus World online. You can manage your preferences all in one place—and provide our editorial team with your valued feedback.

Magazine Subscription

Can you subscribe to receive our print issue for free? Yes, you sure can!

Newsletter Subscription

A Laser Focus World newsletter subscription is free to qualified professionals:

The Daily Beam

Showcases the newest content from Laser Focus World, including photonics- and optics-based applications, components, research, and trends. (Daily)

Product Watch

The latest in products within the photonics industry. (9x per year)

Bio & Life Sciences Product Watch

The latest in products within the biophotonics industry. (4x per year)

Laser Processing Product Watch

The latest in products within the laser processing industry. (3x per year)

Get Published!

If you’d like to write an article for us, reach out with a short pitch to Sally Cole Johnson: [email protected]. We love to hear from you.

Photonics Hot List

Laser Focus World produces a video newscast that gives a peek into what’s happening in the world of photonics.

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast

Following the Photons: A Photonics Podcast dives deep into the fascinating world of photonics. Our weekly episodes feature interviews and discussions with industry and research experts, providing valuable perspectives on the issues, technologies, and trends shaping the photonics community.

Social Media

Bluesky • Facebook • Instagram • LinkedIn • YouTube

Meet the Laser Focus World Team

Editorial

Sales

Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology
My Watchlist
Indicators
Industrial Laser Index
Markets
Stocks
ETFs
Tools
Markets:
Overview
News
Currencies
International
Treasuries

The Presidio Group Advises STELLA™ Automotive AI on $19.7M Series A Funding

By: via Business Wire

Reynolds and Reynolds and major dealership groups invest in expansion of STELLA’s innovative automotive AI solutions

STELLA™ Automotive AI, Inc. (“STELLA”), a provider of automotive artificial intelligence technology, announced the closing of its oversubscribed Series A financing round, which raised $19.7 million to drive market growth and support ongoing product enhancement and development.

The raise comprises both newly invested capital and outstanding convertible notes that converted into this Series A issuance.

The Presidio Group acted as exclusive financial advisor to STELLA for the Series A financing, helping it procure capital from existing backers and several new investors from within the auto retail ecosystem, including strategic partner Reynolds and Reynolds and nine new strategic dealer investors: Qvale Auto Group, OREMOR Automotive Group, Mills Automotive Group, Bowers Automotive Group, MileOne Autogroup, Flow Automotive, MBB Auto Group, Ford Family Investments and West Herr Auto Group.

“The excitement the market is showing for STELLA’s AI technology is thrilling,” said STELLA CEO Rich Sands. “Since our founding, STELLA has aimed to put dealers first as it delivers products that both improve dealership efficiency and drive a best-in-class customer experience. The confidence demonstrated by our investors in this Series A round further validates our vision of driving transformational change in auto retailing with our technology.”

Using STELLA’s technology, dealerships can solve the longtime major pain points of engaging with customers in a timely and helpful fashion. STELLA’s AI assistant can simultaneously handle unlimited inbound calls as it engages in natural language conversations 24/7 to deliver a world-class customer experience. The STELLA assistant is trained on a wide range of automotive retail topics and can answer frequently asked questions and schedule service and sales appointments.

The expansion of STELLA’s strategic dealer investor group provides a unique advantage as the company continues to enhance and expand its technological capabilities.

“Having dealers on board as early investors and users of STELLA’s technology creates a symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties,” said Presidio Managing Director Keith Style. “Strategic investors who have deployed these solutions provide real-time feedback, enabling STELLA to quickly enhance its current product offerings and develop a robust roadmap of future products that dealers want to deploy in their stores.”

STELLA’s products integrate with existing dealership software offered by companies like Reynolds and Reynolds, a longtime leading provider of the full Retail Management System for auto retailers.

“As we look to the future of automotive retail and the positive impact artificial intelligence can have, two things are clear. First, the broader an ecosystem we can build for AI to interact with, the more powerful it will be. And second, the data layer AI technology uses to make decisions will determine how much benefit it will have for retailers and our industry as a whole,” said Chris Walsh, president of Reynolds. “Our investment in STELLA is a great launching pad to take AI in automotive retail to the next level.”

Having Reynolds as an early investor provides another avenue for STELLA to test and refine its AI solutions.

“The investment by Reynolds and Reynolds underscores the tremendous value inherent in STELLA’s technology and its ability to improve dealership efficiency and profitability and enhance the customer experience,” said Presidio CEO Brodie Cobb. “The industry’s strategic venture investors see huge potential in artificial intelligence to transform the aspects of vehicle sales and service that haven’t always worked seamlessly. STELLA’s innovative products and this successful financing round further cement the promise AI holds for the industry.”

About The Presidio Group

The Presidio Group (“Presidio”) was founded in 1998 with the simple mission to relentlessly put the interests of our clients first. By steadfastly adhering to this philosophy, the firm has earned the trust of clients throughout the United States. During their careers, the professionals at Presidio have collectively done more than 275 transactions totaling approximately $18.5 billion. The Presidio Group is based in Denver and Atlanta. Presidio Merchant Partners LLC is a subsidiary of The Presidio Group LLC and is a member of FINRA and SIPC. For more information on Presidio, visit www.thepresidiogroup.com.

About STELLA

STELLA™ Automotive AI, Inc. (“STELLA”) is the leading provider of automotive AI technology. STELLA, based in Tampa, Fla., helps auto dealers deliver a complete and intelligent customer experience via telephone, chat and web. STELLA’s digital assistant behaves like a staff member to complete repetitive tasks such as answering and routing phone calls, booking appointments and answering frequently asked questions about vehicle sales and service. STELLA sits on top of legacy software infrastructure and reports analytic information about customer behavior to the dealer. Dealership groups are adding STELLA to their stores every week with tens of thousands of customer calls being handled 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Learn more about STELLA at www.stellaautomotive.com

Contacts

More News

View More
Microsoft Stock Hits Stride in 2025—How Much More Can It Run?
Via MarketBeat
Topics Artificial Intelligence Retirement
Tickers MSFT
How Berkshire's OxyChem Buy Cements Its Long-Term Strength
Via MarketBeat
Tickers BRK BRK-A BRK-B OXY
Oklo Insiders Sell! Oh No! This Is Why Investors Shouldn’t Worry
Via MarketBeat
Tickers OKLO
Rocket Lab's Electron: The Quiet Workhorse Powering Momentum
Via MarketBeat
Tickers RKLB
Down 22% From Highs, ServiceNow Could Be Too Cheap to Ignore
Via MarketBeat
Topics Artificial Intelligence
Tickers NOW
Stock Quote API & Stock News API supplied by www.cloudquote.io
Quotes delayed at least 20 minutes.
By accessing this page, you agree to the following
Privacy Policy and Terms Of Service.