Israeli AI mobility company Autobrains, a developer of self-learning artificial intelligence technology for assisted and autonomous driving, has raised USD 101 million in a Series C funding round led by Singapore-headquartered global investment firm Temasek, the company said on Monday.
Additional participants in the round included braking systems manufacturer Knorr-Bremse AG and EV automaker VinFast. Existing investors such as BMW and long-term strategic partner Continental AG also joined the round.
Established in 2019, AutoBrains is a joint venture set up by Israeli startup Cortica and Continental. The company will use the funding to fortify its presence in new global markets.
The round reflects the anticipation from global leaders, including tier-1 suppliers, OEMs, and sophisticated investment funds, that Autobrains will disrupt advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and the autonomous vehicle marketplace with its alternative approach to AI for automation.
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Autobrains’ self-learning AI differs from other deep learning systems. While it is based on multi-disciplinary research, it is less reliant on massive amounts of data and needs less computing power to operate. The Autobrains system maps raw, real-world data to identify concepts and scenarios for optimal decision-making, resulting in the creation of a deep learning system at a fraction of the cost of its competitors, according to the company.
“The promise of fully autonomous vehicles can feel like it’s perpetually five years away, but not for Autobrains,” said CEO Igal Raichelgauz.
“Our self-learning AI technology will bring full autonomy closer to the present. By reducing the need for manually labeled training data to feed systems that could miss or misinterpret the most challenging scenarios, our technology is more agile and on a steeper trajectory than our competitors’ systems. With this latest round of funding, we’re excited to grow our commercial reach to bring self-learning AI to additional markets.”
“This funding round is… a further validation for our self-learning AI solution for ADAS and autonomous driving. The future of mobility will be powered by intelligent AI,” said Autobrains chairman Karl Thomas-Neumann. “We will bring self-learning AI to additional global markets while we will continue developing as the leading AI technology company enabling safer assisted driving capabilities and higher levels of automation for next-generation mobility.”
The mobility ecosystem is already changing, especially in Europe. EU new regulations mandate more sophisticated ADAS and enhanced autonomy systems to be placed in vehicles from mid-2022 onward.
The article was originally published by NoCamels, a leading news website covering breakthrough innovation from Israel for a global audience.