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By Amy Edelen – Reporter, Phoenix Business Journal
Jan 27, 2023
DAS Technology CEO Alexi Venneri (pictured) at the company’s booth at the 2023 National Automobile Dealers Association in Dallas. The company recently rebranded from Digital Air Strike to DAS Technology.
Digital Air Strike is rebranding to DAS Technology in a move that the company says better reflects its four divisions of client services.
The Scottsdale-based company, which leverages artificial intelligence and data to assist auto dealers attract and retain clients, announced the rebrand Thursday, coinciding with its attendance at the National Automobile Dealers Association conference held Jan. 26-29 in Dallas.
“DAS Technology represents our 12-plus year evolution and celebrates how we improve the customer journey for over 7,800 retailers and their customers across 30 technology touchpoints, including integration with 189 data partners,” Alexi Venneri, co-founder and CEO of DAS Technology, said in a statement.
DAS Technology has acquired seven companies since its inception with the most recent occurring last year with Autovate, an automotive trend and dealmaking conference attended by thousands of investors, dealers, automakers and industry leaders. The company formerly announced the acquisition on Thursday.
“With the acquisition of Autovate, we will continue to track industry trends and expand our customer data and experience offerings to deliver exceptional consumer experiences that lessen the friction between customers and dealers, original equipment manufacturers, lenders, and finance and insurance providers,” Venneri said.
Autovate was founded more than five years ago by Cliff Banks of The Banks Report, which is an online automotive retail industry news source.
“I have always been impressed with how innovative and forward-thinking Digital Air Strike has been. As the Switzerland of our industry, it’s similar to how I have structured Autovate,” Banks said in a statement. “Having larger partners with the extensive network DAS Technology has built and seeing how collaborative the company is across our industry made joining forces a no-brainer.”
Expanding Autovate
DAS Technology plans to expand Autovate beyond an annual conference to include monthly digital alerts about automotive breaking news for industry executives, dealers, lenders and technology organizations. The platform is slated to launch in the second quarter, Venneri told the Phoenix Business Journal.
In addition, Autovate will continue to be held in the Phoenix area. In 2022, the conference was held at the Omni Scottsdale Resort & Spa at Montelucia in Scottsdale. Prior to that, Autovate was held in Austin, Texas.
“In the auto industry, nobody has established Scottsdale or Phoenix as a home base,” Venneri said. “I thought after five years in Austin, it was time to shake it up and (the conference) turned out really well.”
Digital Air Strike was founded in 2010 to provide dealerships and original equipment manufacturers with technology that integrates into their legacy systems, allowing them to connect with consumers in new ways. The company merged with Response Logix in 2011 and expanded to include more than 189 data integration partners, including Amazon and Google.
Today, DAS Technology operates four divisions: Digital Air Strike, BestRide.com, LotVantage, and Autovate.
In 2021, it acquired LotVantage, a software company that assists dealers list auto, RV and marine inventory on websites such as Craigslist, eBay and Facebook. That same year, DAS Technology acquired BestRide.com, an online car marketplace previously owned by Gannett Co. Inc., the media company that owns the Arizona Republic and USA Today.
DAS Technology has more than 160 employees with a majority based in Scottsdale.
