BMW i Ventures, the strategic investment arm of automotive manufacturer BMW, has led a $15m round for Sweden-based street-level mapping technology developer Mapillary.
Autonomous driving software developer NavInfo also took part in the round along with consumer electronics producer Samsung, which participated through its Catalyst Fund, Atomico, Sequoia Capital, PlayFair Capital and LDV Capital.
Founded in 2013, Mapillary has built a repository of street-level data that comprises 260 million images across 190 countries. Anyone can supply images taken from their cameras, and the images are connected using the company’s computer vision technology.
Uwe Higgen, managing partner of BMW i Ventures, said: “There is a growing need for an independent provider of street-level imagery and map data, which also acts as a sharing platform among different players.
“Data sharing is crucial to maintaining accurate maps and to the development of safe autonomous vehicles. Mapillary has made great progress and built technology that will let everyone update maps in a scalable way.”
Sequoia Capital led Mapillary’s $1.5m seed round in 2015, investing alongside Playfair, LDV Capital, Wellington Partners and angel investors including James Currier, Taavet Hinrikus and Naval Ravikant.
Mapillary secured another $8m in an early 2016 series A round featuring Sequoia, Atomico, LDV Capital and PlayFair. It has now raised $24.5m altogether, and the latest funding will be used for product development and recruitment.