Recognition honors the agentic AI that answers every automotive lead in real time and books the appointment
NEW YORK, NY, September 22, 2026 — Impel, the global leader in AI solutions for the automotive industry, today announced it has been named a winner in the 2026 Stratus Awards for Cloud Computing in the category of Automotive. Presented by the Business Intelligence Group, the award recognizes companies, products, and individuals delivering cloud offerings that are truly differentiated in the market.
The recognition honors Sales AI, one of the specialized agents that make up the Impel Automotive AI Operating System. Sales AI works every lead a dealership receives, reading sentiment, intent, and urgency in real time, then answering in the moment with humanlike conversation. When a shopper is ready, it books the appointment. When a conversation needs a person, Sales AI hands off to the assigned rep with full context. Each of those actions closes a loop that used to sit open on someone’s task list, leaving reps to do what they do best: build relationships.
“We are honored to be recognized in the 2026 Stratus Awards for our work in automotive,” said Devin Daly, Co-Founder and CEO of Impel. “Automotive retail has never been a general-purpose problem, and we’ve never treated it like one. Sales AI reflects that conviction, giving every dealership the ability to treat every customer like their most important one. I couldn’t be more proud of our team for their leadership, vision, and relentless dedication to delivering AI that performs at enterprise scale.”
The Stratus Awards celebrate the organizations defining the next phase of cloud computing, where success is measured by what a system delivers rather than where it happens to run. Every nomination is scored against objective benchmarks by a panel of senior industry professionals.
About Impel
Impel is harnessing the power of AI to transform automotive retailing and has become one of the largest vertical AI companies in the world. The company’s industry-leading Automotive AI Operating System helps more than 8,000 retailers and OEMs unify the entire customer journey, fueling faster decisions, deeper connections, and measurable impact at every step along the way. To date, Impel has delivered more than 42 billion shopper interactions, influencing over $12 billion in Sales and Service revenue across 51 countries.
About Business Intelligence Group
Business Intelligence Group is an independent awards organization running 12 annual programs across innovation, AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and workplace culture. Unlike popularity contests, BIG programs use professional judging panels and objective scoring benchmarks to identify organizations making real, measurable impact. Its Stratus Awards for Cloud Computing have honored differentiated cloud innovation since 2014.