Israel-based connected vehicle technology developer Nexar completed a $52m series C round yesterday backed by consumer electronics producer Samsung, computer data storage provider Micron Technology and insurers Nationwide and Sompo.
Venture capital firm Corner Ventures led the round, while La Maison, Atreides Management, Aleph, Mosaic Ventures and Ibex Ventures also participated. Samsung and Micron Technology invested through Samsung Next and Micron Ventures respectively.
Nexar has developed computer vision and sensor technology for use in smart dash cameras, aggregating data to alert drivers to hazards on the road ahead. Its products also include a smart city software platform to map construction zones and track road inventory.
The platform currently covers more than 1,000 cities across the US, accounting for 90% of freeways and more than 50% of non-residential roads in the country.
The series C funds will drive international expansion efforts and the development of additional data services, including a feature to help drivers understand how road layouts may have changed to facilitate social distancing.
Nexar has agreed a strategic partnership with insurance provider Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company that will involve its technology being integrated into vehicles in Japan. It has also partnered an unnamed carmaker in order to launch a curbside mapping project in Europe.
The company raised $30m in an early 2018 round led by Ibex Ventures that included Alibaba Innovation Ventures, a subsidiary of e-commerce group Alibaba, as well as Nationwide, Aleph, Slow Ventures, True Ventures, Mosaic Ventures and Tusk Ventures.
The latter two co-led Nexar’s $10.5m series A round in 2016, with commitments from Aleph and Slow Ventures. It had secured $4m the previous year, in a seed round led by Aleph and backed by Slow Ventures.
