US-based autonomous driving technology developer Nauto completed a $159m series B round today that was co-led by a subsidiary of telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, and venture capital firm Greylock Partners.
Carmakers BMW, General Motors and Toyota also invested, through their BMW iVentures, General Motors Ventures and Toyota AI Ventures units respectively, as did Allianz Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of insurance firm Allianz.
The round was filled out by hardware-focused venture capital fund Playground Global and VC firm Draper Nexus, both of which had participated in Nauto’s $12m series A round in April 2016 alongside VC firm Index Ventures.
Nauto is working on an artificial intelligence-powered data platform that prevents crashes and helps users drive more safely. In contrast to autonomous vehicle systems that are being designed for new cars, Nauto’s system, which includes a dual camera, can be retrofitted to existing vehicles.
The company will use the funding to expand globally, and the more cars its technology is adopted by the more information will be fed into its connected platform.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank, said: “While building an increasingly intelligent telematics business, Nauto is also generating a highly valuable dataset for autonomous driving, at massive scale.
“This data will help accelerate the development and adoption of safe, effective self-driving technology. We believe in Nauto’s potential to revolutionise the automotive sector and look forward to enabling their success.”
Allianz Ventures, BMW i Ventures and Toyota Research Institute, the Toyota subsidiary that recently launched Toyota AI Ventures, had previously provided an undisclosed amount of funding to Nauto in October 2016.
The company has also raised $11.8m in debt financing, according to regulatory filings in late 2015 and November 2016.
Shu Nyatta, an investor for SoftBank unit SoftBank Investment Advisors, will join Nauto’s board of directors in conjunction with the round, along with Greylock partner Reid Hoffman.