Autonomous vehicles developer Oxbotica has secured more than £100m of funding for further innovation in a major boost for the company.
The Oxford-based company announced it has raised $140m in investment to deploy its operating system for Universal Autonomy in multiple commercial and industrial settings around the world.
The funding will drive Oxbotica’s geographical expansion in North America, and other parts of the world, and accelerate the deployment of its ground-breaking autonomy operating system in domains where there is both urgent need, including agriculture, airports, energy, goods delivery, mining and shared passenger transportation.
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Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxbotica, said: “This landmark investment from world-class investors is a tremendous validation of our strategy to apply self-driving technology where there is persistent and urgent demand - in supply chains, industrial sectors and in decongesting our cities.
"We share a common purpose with our investors as well as our growing number of customers and partners to make the earth move more safely, more sustainably and more efficiently. We’re invigorated by their confidence and are moving quickly to accelerate the benefits of autonomy for everyone.”
Paul Newman, CTO and a Founder of Oxbotica, said: “Oxbotica was founded eight years ago on the vision of Universal Autonomy - providing safe and sustainable autonomy that is independent of workplace and vehicle type.
"With the greatest engineering talent and experience, using the best of AI, robotics and the metaverse, we are delivering on that promise to create value for our customers, our communities and our planet. We welcome our new investors who share our bold vision to redefine the role of the human in the operation of vehicles.”
In addition to high-calibre investors, Oxbotica attracts category-defining customers and partners, including Ocado Group, with which the company is collaborating on autonomous goods delivery to fulfil customer orders.
The software-defined vehicle from partner Applied EV, driven by Oxbotica, has already operated with no on-board driver on a publicly accessible road in Oxford, marking a key milestone in commercialising its AV technology.
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In partnership with Applied EV, bp, NEVS and ZF, autonomous passenger shuttles and industry-specific vehicles driven by Oxbotica will be launched in 2024. Meanwhile, together with Wenco International Mining Systems Ltd., Oxbotica is bringing the benefits of open autonomy to mining to improve safety and sustainability combined with lower operational costs.
Mitsuru Yamaguchi, senior managing executive officer at Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd, said: "Oxbotica really sets itself apart from its competitors thanks to its ambitious vision to unlock Universal Autonomy."
Oxbotica has headquarters in Oxford and in Toronto, Canada.
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This story was written by Andy Ffrench, he joined the team more than 20 years ago and now covers community news across Oxfordshire.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Andy.ffrench@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailAndyF
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