YC-backed Garage raises $13.5M to help firefighters buy equipment

A firefighter since age 15, Martin Hunt, now 26, knew firsthand the pain of small communities with tight budgets buying fire equipment.

One day in 2023, he found himself chatting with one of his firefighter friends who’d asked if Hunt knew of a better way. 

“When I couldn’t find anything, it became clear that there was a need for a streamlined, nationwide marketplace for expensive, hard-to-move equipment like firetrucks,” Hunt told TechCrunch. “A few months later, I left my job with no product or funding to build the solution.”

He teamed up with college friend Alaz Sengul and launched Garage, a marketplace that sells specialized equipment commonly used in local governments and public safety. It automates most of what used to be a manual process, such as appraisal, freight quotes, and payment solutions. 

“Many of our customers are civil servants, firefighters, fleet managers, and public work directors who don’t have the administrative bandwidth to deal with endless paperwork and logistical coordination,” Hunt, who is the company’s CEO, said. Sengul serves as CTO. 

The company announced on Wednesday a $13.5 million Series A led by Infinity Ventures. 

Right now, Hunt said, fire departments depend on online auction places like GovDeals, Facebook groups, or even, still, classified newspaper ads, to find equipment if they are looking to buy previously owned gear.

At the same time, cities are trying to sell old equipment to raise money for new supplies. Hunt said many communities couldn’t sell nationwide, either, because selling a fire truck to a buyer thousands of miles away often proved hard logistically.

Garage’s nationwide product platform works like this: Sellers use Garage’s AI tool to appraise their equipment. Then, it lists the product, offering either an auction or “buy now” format. Buyers message the seller, requesting instant quotes for things like warranty and freight. After an agreement is met, Garage handles the backend and uses AI to help coordinate the delivery. 

“With transactions of this size, often times greater than $100,000, security is a major concern, especially with the number of scammers that lurk on platforms like Facebook marketplace,” Hunt added. 

He described the fundraising process as “catalytic,” and said he and Sengul met their lead investors after participating in YC’s Winter 24 cohort. The founders raised a $4.5 million seed round by Initialized Capital, then after were introduced to Infinity Ventures.

Others in the round include Benchstrength, Wayfinder Ventures, and FJ Labs. The company has raised $18 million to date. 

The fresh capital will be used to expand the team and the marketplace. Hunt said the product is currently used in all 50 states, naming cities like Burlington, Vermont, and South Charleston, West Virginia, as clients. 

“We hope that improving access to affordable, mission-critical equipment improves public safety in the areas that need it most, while allowing funds to go further and stay in the hands of those serving our local communities,” Hunt said.

This story was updated to reflect where Burlington is.