South: Oxbotica raises $47 million from investors
Oxbotica, a global leader in autonomous vehicle software, has announced the completion of a $47m series B investment with partners across the globe led by bp ventures.
The funding will accelerate Oxbotica’s commercial deployment of its world-class autonomy software platform across multiple industries and key markets. The news is an endorsement of Oxbotica'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, IPGroup, 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.
Oxbotica was founded in 2014 by Oxford University professors, Paul Newman and Ingmar Posner. Since then, the company 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. 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. The advanced technology supports Oxbotica’s unique horizontal B2B model providing operators, integrators and manufacturers the autonomy functionality and flexibility they need – be that a full stack or on a component-by-component basis.
Ozgur Tohumcu, CEO of Oxbotica, said: “We are very excited about the amazing endorsement we have received from new and existing investors. 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.”
Newman, CTO and founder of Oxbotica, said: “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, said: “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 said: “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."
