Gapless
Gapless is a mobile app that enables car owners to digitize many of the tasks involved in vehicle management. With Gapless, car owners can create digital profiles for their cars. These profiles are essentially digitized aggregations of all the paperwork and documentation essential to car ownership, collected on one platform.[1] [2] The app also includes expense management, value tracking and maintenance reminder functions. The Gapless app is free to download, but users can choose to buy in-app purchases to unlock additional information about their vehicles. Once unlocked, Gapless integrates the information into the vehicle profile. As of May 2020, the Gapless platform is being used to manage over 50,000 vehicles.
Gapless stores its vehicle profiles, including the data they contain, using the EOSIO blockchain. Such storage on a distributed blockchain not only ensures data security, it also serves as a certification method to verify the quality of the data associated with a given vehicle. Gapless claims this makes it impossible to falsify a vehicle profile, or to pass someone else's profile off as one's own. It is this promise of transparency and security upon which Gapless stakes its claim of value, and why the startup has been successful in garnering funding.
Gapless is a product of New Horizon GmbH, a company founded in September 2018 by Jan Karnath, Malte Häusler and Andreas Joebges in Berlin, Germany. The idea for the company was originally conceived within Porsche, the German car manufacturer. However, Porsche decided Gapless could be developed more effectively as an external startup, and consequently sought out Karnath, Häusler and Joebges to take the reins. Porsche is now one of Gapless’ key backers.
Fundraising
Since receiving initial seed funding from Porsche in September 2018, Gapless closed a second round of seed funding in April 2020. This round was led by the FinLab EOS VC Fund, a joint venture between FinLab AG and the EOSIO blockchain developer Block.one. The fund aims to support startups that offer viable use cases for blockchain technologies. Porsche and LA ROCA Capital also contributed to the round. Gapless received a total of 5.5 million Euros, or roughly $6 million, in this second round of seed funding.[3]
Digital vehicle profiles
Gapless "vehicle profiles" consolidate car-related documentation, scheduling and logistics on one interface. These profiles include the following features:
- An expense manager to track and forecast car-related costs.
- A maintenance calendar that notifies the user when certain maintenance actions are likely necessary.
- A value tracker that tells the user how the value of their vehicle changes over time.
- Optional data packages that, when purchased, import additional data about the user's vehicle into the Gapless profile. These data may include a wide range of information, from service history records to records of recalls, odometer fraud, or accidents in the vehicle's past.
- A vehicle timeline that displays the vehicle's complete history.
- A gallery where the user can upload photos of his vehicle.
- A print function that allows the user to print a PDF version of his/her vehicle timeline.
Gapless Vehicle History Reports
Gapless also offers vehicle history reports through its mobile app and website. This service is separate from the Gapless app and thus not only available to Gapless users. On the Gapless website, car owners or car shoppers can search a VIN or license plate number for a detailed report on the corresponding car’s past. Searchers can see a preview of the report for free, but the full report costs between 10 and 20 US dollars, depending on the user’s location. Regardless of location, however, Gapless vehicle history reports are less expensive than industry leaders. Gapless users can import this report into their vehicle profile. Non-Gapless users can print their report or download it as a PDF.
Vision and Blockchain
Gapless CEO Jan Karnath has expressed plans to eventually support the management of all kinds of collectible items on its platform.[4] According to Karnath, Gapless ultimately hopes to enable users to create digital profiles for any asset with intangible value. Currently, Gapless profiles streamline the maintenance necessary for the preservation and appreciation of an item’s value, but if Karnath has his way, they will also incorporate said item into a Gapless blockchain. In theory, the Gapless blockchain will act as a hyper-secure anti-counterfeiting measure, thus enabling the creation of a digital marketplace for unique treasures that is convenient and secure.
References
- ↑ "Start-up Gapless: Digitale Fahrzeughistorie" [Start-up gapless: digital vehicle history]. Autohaus (in Deutsch). 2019-03-22.
- ↑ Mirko Stepan (9 January 2019). "Neue App für alte Eisen" [New app for old irons]. ALLRAD-NEWS.de (in Deutsch).
- ↑ "Finanzierungsboost trotz Corona: Blockchain-Start-up sammelt Millionen". BTC-ECHO (in Deutsch). 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- ↑ Jens Koenen (2019-09-23). "Digitaler Concierge: Auf dieser Plattform können Oldtimer-Liebhaber ihre Schätze verwalten" [Digital concierge: classic car enthusiasts can manage their treasures on this platform]. Handelsblatt (in Deutsch). Retrieved December 18, 2019.
External links
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