AImotive raises £20 million to become the most-funded automated driving software supplier in Europe

AImotive, the automated driving technology company, has announced today that it has raised a $20 million round to further develop its software for self-driving cars and advanced driver assistance (ADAS).

This brings Budapest, Hungary-based AImotive‘s total raised to over $70 million. It’s also a sign software is becoming an important piece of technology as we head toward the future of automated driving.

AImotive will continue its international expansion by opening offices in Munich, Germany and Detroit, allowing the company to provide enhanced support for its automotive partner. AImotive CEO László Kishonti told VentureBeat it’s become harder to support partners with current travel bans, and opening local offices will help.

AImotive will also accelerate its efforts to ensure that automated driving is not only a feature of luxury vehicles, but also a life-saving technology that is available to all. Current development efforts are focusing on deploying automated driving technologies to highway driving, taking over from drivers on long and boring drives, or deploying emergency technologies that serve to mitigate or avoid accidents. The company is also working to further advance its automated valet parking solution. The technology aims to save drivers from the hassle of parking completely, by allowing them to exit their vehicle at the entrance of supported parking lots.

László Kishonti, founder and CEO of AImotive said: “Securing funding during the recession caused by the current pandemic underlines the high demand for, and trust in AImotive’s technologies that tackle the challenges of automated driving through a system approach. By not only concentrating on one piece of the automated driving puzzle, we have developed working solutions that solve real-world problems and can be deployed quickly. I am grateful to our investors for their support in the next phase of our growth”.

The company has been working to bring its vision of affordable automated driving to all since 2015. Over the last five years the company has grown from its Budapest headquarters to offices and testing locations in key automotive areas over three different continents. As the company’s technology relies heavily on artificial intelligence (AI) based software solutions, AImotive now houses one of the largest AI research teams in Europe. Leading automotive partners have trusted AImotive technology in mass production products, while the company also recently announced that aiSim, its simulator for automated driving development has become the only certified automotive-grade simulator of its kind.

“Over the last five years AImotive has grown into a European powerhouse of automated driving development, and their growth will continue over the coming years, as automotive stakeholders increasingly recognise the enormous change that is in front of them. As with the advent of the smart phone, when software became the leading force of the mobile industry, automotive is facing a similar change. AImotive’s technologies provide automotive partners with the tools they need to face this challenge” says Timo Tirkkonen, Chairman of the Board at AImotive.