The Demo Challenge is returning to Auto Finance Summit East 2025, taking place May 12-14 in Nashville, Tenn., as nine financial services startups compete live to be named Best in Show during the contest on Tuesday, May 13, at 1:45 p.m. 

During the showcase, moderated by Sam Davidson, CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, each company will demonstrate its latest innovative technologies in auto finance and mobility to attendees, who will vote for two semifinalists to move on to the final round. Auto industry judges will name the final winner. 

This year’s demo companies are:  

• Appli, an application consulting firm;  

• Carrington Labs, a loan application monitoring firm;  

• DataScoop AI, a subprime auto risk management firm;  

• ioMoVo, a digital asset management solutions company;  

• Kobalt Labs, an automative compliance firm;  

• Kora, an income automation verification platform;  

• Multimodal, an automated work management system provider;  

• RockED, an employee development company with a focus on the auto industry; and  

• SAVVI AI, an artificial intelligence solutions platform.  

This year’s judges are:  

• Burak Cendek, partner at Autotech Ventures; 

• Jimmy Douglas, founder and chief executive of Plug; and  

• John Possumato, founder and CEO at Driveitaway. 

Auto Finance Summit East 2025 is set for May 12-14 at the JW Marriott Nashville featuring fireside chats with Santander Consumer USA and Chase Auto. Visit autofinance.live for more information. Early-bird registration is available here.