A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting start-ups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – SMART CARS
- Bestmile, an autonomous shuttle and fleet management solutions for autonomous vehicles provider received $2.5M in seed funding.Link
- Innoviz Technologies, a startup developing low cost, solid state LiDAR received $9M is series A funding. Link
- ZF AG, a leading automotive tier-1 supplier bought a 40% stake in Ibeo Automotive Systems, a LiDAR manufacturer and ADAS software provider. Link
- Engie, an OBD based services provider using smartphones raised $3.5M in series A funding. Link
- Automile, an OBD based services provider in Europe and USA raised $6.2M in series B funding. Link
- Civilmaps, a 3D mapping company received $6.6M in seed funding. Link
- FiveAI, a developer of complete software stack for autonomous vehicles received $2.7M in series A funding. Link
- Trak N Tell, a GPS tracking device for vehicles based in India raised $3.5M in series A funding. Link
- Zoox, a self driving taxi startup received $200M in series A funding confirming its valuation to be $1B. Link
- Nexar, a startup developing AI based dashcam received $10.5M in series A funding. Link
- Audi plans to creat a subsidiary dedicated to self-driving car technology. Link
- Google self-driving project’s CTO, Chris Urmson quits. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
FiveAI (2015, Bristol, $2.7M) – FiveAI develops complete software stack for autonomous vehicles which does not need highly accurate 3D maps.
Adasky (2015, Ramat Gan) – Adasky develops advanced computer vision algorithms for autonomous vehicles.
LEADER BOARD – SMART CARS
Autonomous Vehicles
Tesla Motors (2003, Palo Alto, IPO) – Makers of smart electric cars with focus on autonomous driving technologies. Backed by Compass Technology Partners, Valor Equity Partners, Google, J.P. Morgan, VantagePoint Capital Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Capricorn Investment Group, Technology Venture Partners US, Daimler, DFJ Growth, U.S. Department of Energy, Fjord Ventures, Aabar Investments, Panasonic, Office of Systems Integration. Went public in 2010.
Mobileye (1999, Jerusalem, IPO) – Makers of vision systems for on-board driving assistance. Backed by Goldman Sachs, FIBI Holding, GlenRock Israel, Delek Group. Went public in 2014.
Connected Car Technologies
TTTech (1998, Vienna, $86M) – Providers of dependable network solutions using deterministic Ethernet and ECUs for ADAS. Backed by Audi AG, Infineon AG, GE Ventures, Aeris Capital, Athena Wien Beteiligungen.
Airbiquity (1997, Seattle, $61M) – Leading provider of end-to-end connected car services through its cloud platform. Backed by Ignition Partners, Acorn Ventures, Kirnaf Ltd., Broe Growth Capital, Tapco Ventures, Shell Internet Ventures BV.
Driving Assistance
Dash (2002, Sunnyvale, $65M, Acq.) – Producers of hardware and software for in-car navigation system with advanced content. Acquired by Blackberry in 2009.
Navdy (2013, SF, $26.5M) – Producers of voice controllable heads-up display for cars integrating smartphone with car’s instruments. Backed by Upfront Ventures, Eniac Ventures, Lightbank, Ludlow Ventures, MESA+, Promus Ventures, Wareness, Formation 8, Qualcomm Ventures and others.
On-Board Diagnostics (OBD)
Automatic (2013, SF, $32M) – OBD based device that learns the driving habits and connects with smartphone to give assistive audio messages for better driving. Backed by USAA, Amicus Capital, Y Combinator, Comcast Ventures, Anthemis Group, Lumia Capital.
Zubie (2012, Charleston, $25M) – Provides a hardware dongle which connects with internet based devices to give location, maintenance diagnostics and driving insights for easy monitoring of vehicles. Backed by OPENAIR equity partners, Castrol innoVentures, Nokia Growth Partners.
Infotainment
QNX software sytems (1980, Ottawa, Acq.) – Developer of leading real time operating systems (RTOS) in automotive industry and other automotive infotainment software tools. Acquired by BlackBerry in 2010.
CloudCar (2011, LA, $11.5M) – Stealth mode startup with product which extracts pertinent information from smartphone apps and social media sites which is integrated with the car’s display. Backed by Redpoint, Passport Capital, DCM ventures, individual investors.
Security
Argus Cyber Security (2013, Tel Aviv, $30M) – Provides intrusion prevention system (IPS) and alerting solutions which prevents a vehicle’s critical components from being hacked. Backed by Magma Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures, Magna International, Allianz Group, SBI.
TowerSec (2011, Ann Arbor, Acq.) – Provides automotive security solutions through ready to embed software solution for OEMs. Acquired by Harman in 2016 for $45M.
Fleet Management
SmartDrive Systems (2004, San Diego, $180M) – Fleet management solutions provider focussing on fuel management and driver safety. Backed by Oak Investment Partners, Revolution Ventures, Founders Fund, Western Technology Investment, New Enterprise Associates, Edelson Technology Ventures, Stanford University, Wabco.
Lytx (1998, San Diego, $153M, Acq.) – Manufactures video driver safety programs used by commercial fleets. Backed by Menlo Ventures, JMI Equity, Integral Capital Partners, Insight Partners, Leader Ventures, Triangle Peak Partners, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, Volvo Group. Acquired by a private equity firm GTCR in 2016.
Leaderboard does not include Google, Apple, major automotive and telecom companies.
For latest update, visit Smart Cars feed.