By securing this funding AImotive has now become the largest VC-backed company developing automated driving technology in Europe, with total funding of $75 million. Existing investors were joined by new investors – Lead Ventures and Szechenyi Venture Fund – to support the future growth of the company.
Building on the additional funding secured with the latest investment, AImotive will continue to expand internationally, opening offices in Munich, Germany, and Detroit, MI, USA. With these new locations, the company will be able to provide enhanced support for its automotive partners in these key regions.
AImotive said that it would be looking to accelerate its efforts to extend the use of its technology beyond luxury vehicles. Current development efforts are focusing on deploying automated driving technologies to highway driving, or deploying emergency technologies that serve to mitigate or avoid accidents. The company is also working to further advance its automated valet parking solution.
“Securing funding during the recession caused by the current pandemic underlines the high demand for, and trust in AImotive’s technologies that tackle the challenges of automated driving through a system approach. By not only concentrating on one piece of the automated driving puzzle, we have developed working solutions that solve real-world problems and can be deployed quickly. I am grateful to our investors for their support in the next phase of our growth," said László Kishonti, founder and CEO of AImotive.
As the company’s technology relies heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) based software solutions, AImotive now houses one of the largest AI research teams in Europe. The company also recently announced that aiSim, its simulator for automated driving development has become the only certified automotive-grade simulator of its kind.
“Over the last five years AImotive has grown into a European powerhouse of automated driving development, and their growth will continue over the coming years, as automotive stakeholders increasingly recognise the enormous change that is in front of them. As with the advent of the smart phone, when software became the leading force of the mobile industry, automotive is facing a similar change. AImotive’s technologies provide automotive partners with the tools they need to face this challenge” said Timo Tirkkonen, Chairman of the Board at AImotive.
