An automotive retail startup founded by a former Tesla Inc. executive is looking to establish a second U.S. regional corporate office in Greater Cincinnati.
The Ohio Tax Credit Authority approved a more than 1.8%, eight-year Job Creation Tax Credit July 26 to Tekion Corp. for the creation of more than $7.5 million in new annual payroll. Tekion is a developer of a cloud-based platform intended to connect digital experiences to automotive retail. The platform brings the consumer, dealer and original equipment manufacturer together, connecting every part of the retail buying experience. The estimated value of the tax credit is $1 million.
Officials with Tekion did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ohio is competing with Texas and Tennessee for the proposed project, according to a scope of work document from the Ohio Development Services Agency. “State support will help ensure the proposed project moves forward in Ohio.”
The proposed project, which would be located in West Chester Township, would establish a second U.S. regional corporate office. Tekion is headquartered in San Ramon, Calif. As part of the tax credit agreement, the authority requires the company to maintain operations at the project location for at least 11 years.
Tekion was founded in 2016 by Jay Vijayan, former chief information officer of Tesla. According to Business Courier sister publication San Francisco Business Times, the company hit unicorn status — a privately held company with a value of more than $1 billion — last fall when it raised $150 million from backers led by private equity investor Advent International, with participation from San Francisco-based Index Ventures, Exor, Airbus Ventures and FM Capital. As of October, the company had about 300 employees.
The company offers end-to-end dealer management system with its Automotive Retail Cloud (ARC) platform, which provides connectivity between vehicle manufacturers, dealers and car buyers. Tekion also provides open application programming interfaces and gives dealers access to their data to glean insights for their customers.
As part of the proposed West Chester project, Tekion is looking to create 103 new jobs by the end of 2024. The new positions are expected to generate new annual payroll of more than $7.5 million. That breaks down to an average of $73,000 per position.
According to Ohio Development Services Agency, West Chester Township expressed support for Tekion’s proposed project with a letter dated July 1.
The Tekion project was one of six that received approval of assistance to create a total of 591 jobs and retain 432 jobs statewide. The projects are expected to result in more than $38 million in new payroll and spur more than $30 million in investments across Ohio.
