Oxford-based Oxbotica is on a mission to use tech to make the earth move. The startup has just raised a fresh €130 million funding boost as investor confidence in market demand grows.
Autonomous vehicles are a quickly-emerging field of tech development and whilst demand and interest in self-driving vehicles grows, so does the need for software that can keep up and keep people safe.
Based in Oxford and Toronto, Oxbotica aims to unlock the benefits of autonomous technology for people and organisations across the world. The startup has just raised new capital as it plans to bring its operating system to multiple commercial and industrial domains around the world – including vital services such as agriculture, airports, energy, goods delivery, mining and shared passenger transportation.
Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxbotica, said: “This landmark investment from world-class investors is a tremendous validation of our strategy to apply self-driving technology where there is persistent and urgent demand—in supply chains, industrial sectors and in decongesting our cities. We share a common purpose with our investors as well as our growing number of customers and partners to make the Earth move more safely, more sustainably and more efficiently. We’re invigorated by their confidence and are moving quickly to accelerate the benefits of autonomy for everyone.”
Funding details
- About €130 million raised in Series C investment
- The round was led by financial and strategic partners from North America, EMEA and APAC, including new investors such as Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd and ENEOS Innovation Partners.
- Current shareholders who are re-investing include bp ventures, BGF, Halma, Hostplus, Kiko Ventures (IP Group), Ocado Group, Tencent, Venture Science and ZF
- It brings total funding raised to date to over €209 million
Paul Newman, CTO and a Founder of Oxbotica, said: “Oxbotica was founded eight years ago on the vision of Universal Autonomy™—providing safe and sustainable autonomy that is independent of workplace and vehicle type. With the greatest engineering talent and experience, using the best of AI, robotics and the metaverse, we are delivering on that promise to create value for our customers, our communities and our planet. We welcome our new investors who share our bold vision to redefine the role of the human in the operation of vehicles.”
Founded in 2014 by Oxford professors, Paul Newman and Ingmar Posner, Oxbotica has grown into one of the world’s most well-known autonomous driving software companies. The company aims to influence how the earth moves, leveraging the benefits of self-driving technology to every person and every organisation on the planet.
Its current suite of products—Oxbotica Driver™, Oxbotica Cloud™ and Oxbotica MetaDriver™—is enabling Universal Autonomy™: the ability of any vehicle, of any size, in any location to operate autonomously, safely and sustainably. Through its open, modular and customisable operating system for autonomy, Oxbotica provides customers with flexibility on how to deploy the technology to suit their unique needs.
This investment reflects confidence in the autonomous vehicle market, and coming at this point of the year, suggests that autonomous driving could be something to watch in the mobility space as a whole. It also reflects the development of Oxbotica’s tech over the years, including innovations which represent vital advances in commercialising AV technology. These include Europe’s first zero-occupancy trial on a publicly accessible road in May 2022, metaverse-based testing and collaborative alliances with the insurance sector, amongst others.
Mitsuru Yamaguchi, Senior Managing Executive Officer at Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd, said: “Oxbotica really sets itself apart from its competitor’s thanks to its ambitious vision to unlock Universal Autonomy™. We are excited to combine Oxbotica’s world-class AI and robotic techniques with our own pioneering expertise in the telematics insurance arena. This will leave us well placed to develop innovative insurance products and services which will create a safer, greener and more secure society for everyone.”
The new finding will be used to drive Oxbotica’s geographical expansion in North America, EMEA and APAC, and accelerate the deployment of its operating system. Further, in partnership with Applied EV, bp, NEVS and ZF, autonomous passenger shuttles and industry-specific vehicles driven by Oxbotica will be launched in 2024.
Erin Hallock, Managing Partner at bp ventures, said: “We are excited to grow our investment in Oxbotica, which has become a global leader in autonomous vehicle software. Our sustained support is a great example of bp ventures’ continued investment in game-changing technology companies. By leveraging automation and digital technology we believe the team can improve safety and increase efficiency across a wide range of vehicles, and support bp’s ambition to accelerate the global revolution in mobility.”
