Oxbotica has announced the completion of a US$47 million Series B investment with partners across the globe, in a funding round led by bp ventures.
The funding will accelerate Oxbotica’s commercial deployment of its autonomy software platform across multiple industries and key markets. The news is an endorsement of the company’s go-to-market strategy, deploying its autonomy software in industrial use cases in advance of rolling out in urban passenger transportation applications in the future.
High-calibre global investors in the round include BGF, bp ventures, Halma, HostPlus, IP Group, Tencent, Venture Science, and funds advised by Doxa Partners. With financial and strategic investors in Australia, China, UK and the USA, Oxbotica is placed at the centre of a global autonomy ecosystem.
The company was founded in 2014 by Oxford University professors, Paul Newman and Ingmar Posner. Since then, it has grown from a UK robotics start-up to one of the world’s leading autonomy companies.
Oxbotica’s product is a software platform providing Universal Autonomy – the company says its autonomy software is not constrained by environment, location, market or vehicle and allows vehicles to operate with total freedom from external infrastructure such as GPS. It is fast to deploy, low energy, hassle free, hardware agnostic autonomy and applicable to a vast array of vehicle types both on and off road, according to the company. The advanced technology supports Oxbotica’s unique, horizontal, B2B model, providing operators, integrators and manufacturers with the autonomy functionality and flexibility they need – be that a full stack or on a component-by-component basis.
“We are very excited about the amazing endorsement we have received from new and existing investors,” said Ozgur Tohumcu, CEO of Oxbotica. “This round of investment marks a key chapter in Oxbotica’s continued growth and pushes us forward in commercialising our autonomous software today, through key strategic go-to-market partnerships. The high-quality and global footprint of our investors cements our position as a leader in autonomy. We will use funds raised to accelerate the global deployment of our transformative technology.”
Paul Newman, CTO and Founder of Oxbotica, added: “We have a vision, we have the technology, we have the team, we see the markets and we have the customers. Adding these high quality investors to this mix, means we can continue to accelerate Oxbotica, and change the way bits (software) move atoms (people and goods).”
Erin Hallock, bp ventures managing partner, noted: “bp ventures are delighted to invest in Oxbotica – we believe its software could accelerate the market for autonomous vehicles. Helping to accelerate the global revolution in mobility is at the heart of bp’s strategy to become an integrated energy company focused on delivering solutions for customers.“
Jamie Vollbracht, Partner, Cleantech at IP Group plc concluded: “Oxbotica provides autonomy where it makes sense today: delivering safety, cost and environmental benefits. Two years after IP Group’s first investment, we are delighted to be able to welcome multiple value-adding investors to the share register. This substantial funding round will enable Oxbotica to move to the next stage, delivering those benefits in multiple applications across the globe.”