Originally developed as a visual content platform, Spyne has morphed into a full-stack automotive retail suite. In a conversation with Mobility Outlook, Sanjay Varnwal, CEO and Co-founder of Spyne, explained how AI is being used not only to improve listings but to restructure how dealers price vehicles, manage leads, and plan inventory.
A Market That Operates On Memory & WhatsApp
Varnwal points out that operational inefficiencies, particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, lead to as much as 60% in lost sales for smaller dealerships. These losses are rarely from a lack of demand, but rather due to inconsistent pricing, poor vehicle visibility, and erratic follow-ups. “The buyers are online, but the sellers are not,” he says.
Spyne’s platform is designed to simplify tasks such as photographing cars, updating listings, tracking leads, and even recommending prices. Most importantly, it does not require a tech team to operate. “Dealers can run everything from their phones. That is our benchmark for usability,” says Varnwal.
Visual Content To Full Lifecycle Management
Spyne’s early success came from automating car photo shoots. But the team soon realised that this was only one part of a much deeper problem. “The visual layer was helpful, but dealers were still struggling with how to value cars or convert leads. Their biggest issues were invisible,” he notes.
This led to the platform’s expansion into CRM, sourcing assistance, dynamic pricing and automated publishing. Every piece is meant to reduce guesswork and bring consistency to how dealerships operate.
The most complex feature to integrate was CRM, largely because dealers across regions had their own unstructured ways of managing customer calls and site visits. Spyne’s solution now tracks every query and recommends next actions automatically.
Dynamic Pricing
Another challenge the platform solves is pricing volatility. Used vehicle prices are affected by numerous factors—seasonal demand, location, mileage, and competition. Spyne’s AI ingests thousands of listings daily, then benchmarks vehicles in real time to suggest sale prices.
This not only prevents underpricing or overstocking, but also allows dealerships to buy smarter. “Our AI can identify the right vehicles to source across auctions and networks. Stocking the right car is half the sale,” Varnwal explains.
Global Expansion, Local Challenges
Spyne is already setting its sights beyond India. Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with over 80,000 small dealers, are next in line. A local business development team is also being set up in the US. However, Varnwal admits that India’s market is still the toughest in terms of structure. “The main issue is inconsistent data. AI cannot function well when every dealership records sales in a different way, or not at all.”
This is where the company’s current strategy lies: making its tools accessible, affordable, and easy to integrate into daily workflows. “The problem isn’t that Indian dealers don’t want digital tools. It’s that they don’t want complexity,” he says.
Using Funding To Sharpen The Product
With $16 million raised in Series A, Spyne is channelling its capital into product development. The focus is on making the AI even more intuitive while deepening the platform’s utility in areas like sourcing, pricing, and lead conversion. A dealer-first community is also being created to support peer learning and build trust in digital tools.
For Varnwal, the goal is not disruption for the sake of it, but formalisation of a sector that has long been overlooked by mainstream tech. “We are not asking dealers to change how they sell. We’re giving them a better way to do it.”
Spyne’s story is of patient problem-solving in a highly informal market. Varnwal’s focus is clear: dealers don’t need more features, they need fewer problems. In a sector known for chaos, Spyne is betting that simplicity, structure and trust are what will drive the next wave of digital adoption.
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