Activity in the self-driving car industry has stalled, yet a few of the most promising companies are still seeing growth and investment. Oxbotica, an English startup that develops autonomous vehicle software, recently closed its Series C round of $140 million to fuel services for existing clients and attract new business.
The round’s size is impressive in any market, demonstrating the success of AI startups and the eagerness of investors to back companies pioneering autonomous driving.
Oxbotica, founded 8 years ago in Oxford, England, offers an enterprise-level B2B model. Its “Universal Autonomy” software provides flexible technology to power customer needs including navigation and perception for self-driving vehicles in any environment with any hardware and existing software.
This latest funding round for the company features a mix of investors, including previous backers and customers such as Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co. Ltd (Japan), ENEOS Innovation Partners, BGF, Halma Safety Equipment Group, Hostplus hospitality & recreation investor , Kiko Ventures (IP Group), Ocado group online shopping co., Tencent internet giant , Venture Science and ZF automotive component maker. This follows its Series B in Jan 2021 of $47m from similar investors.
Oxbotica has raised a total of $225 million in this round. While its valuation remains undisclosed, Co-Founder and CTO Paul Newman remarked that the high figure is likely due to the current demand for AI startups developing applications based on their technologies.
He stated that it is essential to be in an area investors are highly appreciating. Amidst a period of readjustment, where businesses, customers, and startups alike are considering self-driving technology from more realistic perspectives and pondering financial sustainability and feasibility both commercially and technically, Oxbotica has become the frontrunner for “applying autonomy where necessary.”
CEO Gavin Jackson noted that conversations with investors were much shorter than those in other tech sectors, as it only took 30 seconds for them to comprehend their solution. “We could quickly demonstrate what is truly needed versus what isn’t a problem,” he said.
Despite some grandiose self-driving projects being put on hold or suffering tragic accidents, it has become clear that the most successful applications are in closed campus environments where human navigation is either too unsafe or inefficient.
Oxbotica is building services for agriculture, airports, energy, and shared passenger transportation in addition to the industries of its strategic investors.
Though not perfect, 2020 saw some promising progress with self-driving technology. In May 2022, Europe’s first zero-occupancy trial was conducted on a public road and metaverse testing was completed. Additionally, alliances were formed with insurance companies.
Newman acknowledges challenges that need to be addressed in the intricate realm of constructing autonomous vehicles and systems.
He was thrilled that our system could link up with fleet management; it meant that once an issue was resolved, everyone would benefit. For example, a mining business looking to integrate Oxbotica with its system for dispatching drivers into the mines has the same need as Ocado does for connecting its delivery vehicles.
The evidence is overwhelming, convincing customers and backers that it won’t be “if” but “when” this will happen.
Mitsuru Yamaguchi, senior managing executive officer at Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd. praised Oxbotica’s ambition to unlock Universal Autonomy: “We are thrilled to partner with them and leverage their world-class AI and robotic techniques in order to develop innovative insurance products and services that will create a safer, greener, more secure society for all.”
bp Ventures is thrilled to expand our backing of Oxbotica, a world-renowned leader in autonomous vehicle software. Our sustained commitment underscores our dedication to investing in organizations that are transforming the tech industry. We trust that by leveraging automation and digital technologies, Oxbotica can boost safety and efficiency for all types of vehicles – helping us realize bp’s vision for a global mobility revolution.
