Japan-based autonomous driving technology developer Tier IV has raised ¥3bn ($28.4m) in funding from investors including telecommunications firm KDDI and consumer electronics producer Sony, Nikkei reported today.
The round also featured private equity firm Jafco and University of Tokyo’s Edge Capital fund while Sony took part through its Innovation Fund. Tier IV has revealed it launched with just over $17,000 in seed capital but has not provided additional details.
Founded in 2015, Tier IV is developing an open-source operating system (OS) called Autoware that will power driverless vehicles. The OS has been adopted by more than 100 companies including Sony, automotive manufacturer Yamaha Motor and chipmaker Nvidia.
The funding will support collaborations with industry partners to test Autoware in Japan and internationally, and to develop regional transportation systems that rely on low-speed autonomous cars.
KDDI will collaborate with Tier IV on self-driving tests using 5G mobile network technology, while Sony said it may work with the company through its semiconductor and non-life insurance divisions.
Tier IV’s technology is based on research conducted at Keio University, University of Tokyo, Nagoya University, Nagasaki University and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.