France-based computer vision technology developer Chronocam raised $15m on Monday in a series B round led by semiconductor maker Intel’s corporate venture capital unit, Intel Capital.
The round also featured Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), the corporate venturing arm of industrial product manufacturer Robert Bosch, as well automotive company Renault Group, the French government-owned CEA Investissement, iBionext and 360 Capital.
Founded in 2014, Chronocam provides vision sensors and computer vision technology for use in autonomous vehicles, connected devices, and security and surveillance systems. The equipment is meant to replicate the human eye and identify the relevant parts of a scene.
Intel Capital president Wendell Brooks said: “The world is becoming increasingly connected and intelligent. And computer vision is a key enabler of this trend, particularly for the automotive industry and internet of things.
“Connected machines can quickly and accurately visualise their environment and act on that data in real time, for example, bringing the potential to protect lives with safer roads. We look forward to helping Chronocam bring the next generation of smart machine vision systems to market.”
Chronocam’s seed funding came from iBionext and the company founders before RBVC and CEA Investissement provided $950,000 in November 2015. It will use the series B capital to grow its team as it expands into the US and Asia and moves toward commercialisation of its technology.