ari polakof

Co-Founder Flai (S25), prev Founding Engineer @ Happyrobot

[ari polakof @APolakof]

Today we’re excited to share that @useflai has raised a $4.5 million seed round led by @firstround with participation from @ycombinator @svangel , @Liquid2V, and many other terrific funds and angel investors. This funding fuels our mission to bring customers to automotive dealerships by handling all communication before they walk in the door.

After visiting hundreds of dealerships and speaking with service advisors, BDC managers, GSMs, and GMs across the US, the pattern was clear: missed calls, full inboxes, long hold times, and customers who don’t try again. In fact, 70% of people who hit voicemail call a competitor within 30 minutes, translating directly into lost revenue for the dealership.

Flai has already handled tens of thousands of customer calls and is live in dozens of dealerships. Some dealers have told us Flai has paid for itself on a single Sunday and we’ve generated millions in revenue in the last two months. For our biggest location, we’re generating about 150k in revenue each month.

With this funding, we’re pushing the product to new levels to build the AI communications platform for auto dealerships where every customer interaction outside of the store is taken care of.

[Gadi Borovich @GadiBorovich]

There are 7 days left until we close applications for our next cohort. Some of the people you’ll be meeting:

@pedroh96, founder of @brex
@viccpoes, founder of @krea_ai
@fernandorojo, head of @v0
Rodrigo Schmidt, first Brazilian at Meta
@eliast, founder @agency
@saradu, founder @andocorporation
@victorcardenas, founder of @slashapp
Andres Perez, founder Sanas.
@APolakof, founder @useflai
@RohanVasishth, founder of @getbluejay_ai
@zacbakerr, founder @tryterac
@abustamante, founder @bem_hq
@Andydy42, founder @RespanAI
@cvander, founder @platzi
@pablorpalafox, founder @happyrobot

If you’re in doubt, apply! The thing you’ll quickly realize in SF is that everyone is just like you, so please don’t underestimate yourself.

[ari polakof @APolakof]

Just have to pick and win the right battles

[Car Dealership Guy @GuyDealership]

Why Most Service Departments Leak Calls – And What Actually Stops It | Pre-NADA AI #5

Stream the full episode now, hosted by @samdarc:

02:27 What are Kissee Ford's operational challenges?
08:45 How can AI solve service call problems?
14:46 What is "The Flai Solution"?
20:45 What were the early AI successes?
21:53 How were vendor issues solved?
23:57 How did "Amanda" impact operations?
26:00 How was AI integrated at the dealership?
32:03 What are future AI plans?

[ari polakof @APolakof]

Yesterday night at the @ycombinator F25 fundraising talk :)

[ari polakof @APolakof]

We work every day all day for messages like this one 🥹

[ari polakof @APolakof]

Flai in Times Square 🦅

[Gadi Borovich @GadiBorovich]

Saturday with the Flai guys

[ari polakof @APolakof]

There’s something very exciting about trying to solve what seems impossible at first

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@rdominguezibar @useflai @firstround @ycombinator @svangel @Liquid2V Thanks Ruben!!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

Today we’re excited to share that @useflai has raised a $4.5 million seed round led by @firstround with participation from @ycombinator @svangel , @Liquid2V, and many other terrific funds and angel investors. This funding fuels our mission to bring customers to automotive dealerships by handling all communication before they walk in the door.

After visiting hundreds of dealerships and speaking with service advisors, BDC managers, GSMs, and GMs across the US, the pattern was clear: missed calls, full inboxes, long hold times, and customers who don’t try again. In fact, 70% of people who hit voicemail call a competitor within 30 minutes, translating directly into lost revenue for the dealership.

Flai has already handled tens of thousands of customer calls and is live in dozens of dealerships. Some dealers have told us Flai has paid for itself on a single Sunday and we’ve generated millions in revenue in the last two months. For our biggest location, we’re generating about 150k in revenue each month.

With this funding, we’re pushing the product to new levels to build the AI communications platform for auto dealerships where every customer interaction outside of the store is taken care of.

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@morganlinton @useflai @firstround @ycombinator @svangel @Liquid2V Thanks Morgan!!

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

Congrats to @useflai on their $4.5M seed round!

Flai helps automotive dealerships bring in more customers by handling all communication before they walk in the door — across calls, text, and email.

https://t.co/P5Yo4MZM64

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@RichAberman Thank you so much! True story, when we started fundraising few weeks before demo day Rich was my first meeting and he made us an offer on the spot before I even finished the pitch! So excited to be working together!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@harryqi666 Thanks Harry! Excited to have you!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@rdominguezibar Thanks Ruben!! We’re excited to have you!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@TimSuzman Thank you so much Tim! Excited to be working together!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@New_AI_Safety @useflai @firstround @ycombinator @svangel @Liquid2V Thank you!!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@rishi_srihari @useflai @firstround @ycombinator @svangel @Liquid2V Thanks Rishi!!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@ThisIsOlatunde @useflai @firstround @ycombinator @svangel @Liquid2V Thanks!!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@MrCryptoo_ @useflai @firstround @ycombinator @svangel @Liquid2V Thank you!!

[ari polakof @APolakof]

@lolo_cto @useflai @firstround @ycombinator @svangel @Liquid2V 🇺🇾🇺🇾