Cox Automotive Acquires AI Startup Fullpath for $500 Million to Bolster Global Data Strategy

Cox Automotive acquires Israeli AI firm Fullpath for an estimated $500M. Learn how this strategic deal will transform data management for 40,000 dealerships.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 24, 2026, 4:57 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Calcalist

The Strategic Pivot Toward Agentic AI Integration

Cox Automotive, the world’s largest automotive services provider, has finalized a major acquisition of the Israeli startup Fullpath to accelerate its transition toward autonomous, AI-driven retailing. While official financial terms were not publicly disclosed, industry estimates place the transaction value at approximately $500 million. This move represents Cox’s most significant technological investment in years, aiming to solve the long-standing industry challenge of fragmented data. Fullpath’s platform acts as an "operational brain," consolidating disparate data from dealership management systems (DMS) and customer relationship management (CRM) tools into a singular, actionable consumer profile.

Scaling Innovation Through Global Distribution Networks

Fullpath, which rebranded from AutoLeadStar in 2023, has rapidly expanded its reach by serving thousands of dealerships and securing partnerships with major manufacturers like General Motors, Porsche, and Mazda. By joining Cox Automotive, the startup gains immediate access to a massive distribution scale including iconic platforms like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. According to CEO Aharon Horwitz, the decision to sell during a period of high growth was driven by the opportunity to apply Fullpath's agentic AI models to the broadest dataset in the industry. The acquisition allows the Jerusalem-born technology to scale from 2,100 current clients to over 40,000 dealerships worldwide.

Market Significance of the AI-First Retail Shift

The acquisition comes at a critical juncture for the $2 trillion U.S. automotive market, where dealers face increasing pressure to modernize their digital sales engines. Steve Rowley, President of Cox Automotive, noted that the agreement is a definitive statement that "always-on" retailing is the industry's future. By integrating Fullpath’s CDP, Cox can now offer highly personalized marketing at a scale previously unattainable through manual cycles. This shift toward automated lead handling and individual-level attribution is expected to fundamentally redefine how dealerships measure marketing return on investment in a competitive, tech-intensive environment.