Oxford-based self-driving car software developer Oxbotica has raised fresh funding for its Series C funding round with a $140m (£115m) investment, giving a major boost to the UK’s self-driving car industry. Oxbotica develops a suite of self-driving car software products and has become a big name in the industry since its founding in 2014.
The company has provided software to partners including BP and Ocado Group, which is working with Oxbotica to develop automated food delivery to meet high demand. Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxbotica, said: “This landmark investment from a world-class investor is an ongoing and urgent tribute to our efforts to apply autonomous driving technology to supply chains, the industrial sector and ease urban congestion. Tremendous validation of the strategy in demand.”
“We share the common goal with our investors and a growing number of customers and partners, which is to make the planet run safer, more sustainably and more efficiently.” Series C financing received Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance and ENEOS Innovation Partners investment. Existing investors providing additional funding include Kiko Ventures, Ocado Group, Tencent, Venture Science and ZF.
Oxbotica CTO Paul Newman added: “With the best engineering talent and experience, harnessing the best of artificial intelligence, robotics and the metaverse, we are delivering on our promise to create value for our customers, our communities and our planet .” The latest investment will fuel Oxbotica’s North American expansion and deployment of its Universal Autonomy product.
The Oxford start-up has made significant investments since its founding eight years ago, including a £34m Series B round in January 2021 and a £14m round in September 2018. This massive funding round reverses the downturn in overall tech funding that began in the second half of 2022.
