Bridgestone Americas Inc. continues to invest in mobile-focused automotive services, and its latest project is as a minor investor in another Nashville-based business, Yoshi — a company that offers on-site services such as refueling, car wash and detailing, oil changes and vehicle inspections.
Bridgestone says the partnership will help both companies serve drivers with more options for contactless and convenient services. It will also open up the option of feeding into Bridgestone's company-owned retail stores, and the tiremaker's own mobile tire and service option, Firestone Direct.
Yoshi is described as a "last-mile delivery platform focused on car care services for consumer, fleet and corporate customers."
“The economy of on-demand services continues to grow, and vehicle-related solutions are rising rapidly in popularity,” says Craig Schneider, chief strategy officer for Bridgestone. “Our investment in Yoshi will allow Bridgestone to expand the number of services available to our customers, with the ultimate vision to offer concierge vehicle management for everyone.”
Yoshi was founded in 2015 as a gas delivery service for consumers. The company its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Nashville in 2021, and has evolved since its debut. So far the company has raised more than $46 million.
Bridgestone has made a minority investment. Other investors include General Motors, ExxonMobile, Y Combinator, NBA All-Star Kevin Durant and NFL legend Joe Montana.
“As we continue to expand our service offerings across the country, we couldn’t be more excited to team-up with a world-class partner that shares our vision of making car maintenance and service as frictionless as possible for our customers,” says Bryan Frist, Yoshi’s CEO and co-founder.
Bridgestone and Yoshi will launch their integration plans later this year, allowing Bridgestone retail stores and Firestone Direct to refer business between Bridgestone and Yoshi customers.
The investment in Yoshi comes as Bridgestone says it is pursuing "concierge services for personal mobility and fleet customers." Those include Resolv, a platform for subscription-based vehicle maintenance, Firestone Direct, which offers mobile tire service, and Wrench.
