Used vehicle database Cazana has received a £1.75 million funding boost to help drive the next phase of its expansion in the UK.

Investment from Origin Capital and Passion Capital, which was set up by the same investor who is behind the innovative mobile-only bank Monzo, follows a trade visit to the US, during which Cazana’s vehicle data, machine learning and AI were demonstrated to the motor trade.

Tom Wood, chief executive of Cazana, said: “The investment we have secured demonstrates the value that Cazana’s database provides both to the motor trade, and to consumers looking to purchase a used car.”

Cazana is advised by American venture capitalist Eileen Burbidge MBE, Partner at Passion Capital who also serves as the British Treasury’s special envoy for Fintech companies.

Robert Diamond, former managing director of the RAC, has also become a key adviser, together with Andy Homer, the former chief executive of Aviva and AXA.

Earlier this month former Glass’s Guide valuation expert Rupert Pontin also joined Cazana as its director of valuations.

“I have joined Cazana at a very exciting time as it continues to grow its presence in all areas of the market,” he said.

“Access to accurate, real-time valuation data is increasingly becoming vital for the fleet and finance sectors and Cazana is in an extremely strong position to provide this.”

Cazana claims that its global vehicle database has been proven to help companies reduce the financial risk of working with vehicles and the business is receiving a high number of enquiries from companies looking to reduce the risk of working with used vehicles in the current volatile market.

The business is continuing to expand into the US following this investment, and has its sights set on key European countries too.

The announcement marks a major step forward for Cazana, which was founded in 2013 by automotive fan Tom Wood, after he wanted to gain a better understanding of classic car prices using big data.

Now Cazana has more than 600,000 cars listed for sale on its website and records of all 37 million vehicles on the road.

Behind the growth is the powerful technology that powers the data collection and analysis.

The technology monitors every car on-sale, utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to extract vehicle insights which allows motorists to track a car’s individual value with a timeline of events from its manufacture to present day.

It collects and processes high volumes of data to provide a valuation for each individual vehicle, rather than quoting a generic figure based on model, age, or specification.

Wood said: “Since our launch in 2013, we have grown at a rapid rate, and this investment will enable us to help more businesses understand vehicles better and continue to improve our platform for consumers.

“We are also attracting some major industry names and reputations to Cazana, and are delighted to have the backing of Passion Capital, Origin Capital and ex-RAC MD Robert Diamond.”