EasyMile, a developer of driverless vehicle solutions for material handling and shared passenger transport, has closed a €55 million Series B funding round.
Led by Searchlight Capital Partners, a private investment firm, with McWin and NextStage AM, the round saw all EasyMile’s earlier investors, including Alstom, Bpifrance and Continental, also participating.
The funding will facilitate the completion of EasyMile’s product and technology roadmap while accelerating its international expansion and client service.
This new round of funding, which was oversubscribed, signals the growth phase in the software provider’s development plan. It will allow the company to scale its solutions commercially.
EasyMile has been successful over the past seven years developing its technology and establishing partnerships with top-tier original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).
EasyMile has two primary growth sectors: material handling and shared passenger transport.
The company has partnerships with blue-chip suppliers in goods transportation, such as TLD for the TractEasy autonomous tractor, which is now available for commercial service.
It is the world leader in autonomous shuttles, with 60 percent of the global market share and more than 180 vehicles deployed worldwide.
It recently announced a collaboration on an autonomous mobility service experiment with Stellantis (Peugeot-Chrysler-Fiat) within the framework of France’s SAM Project. It also has further vehicle platforms in development.
EasyMile Founder and CEO Gilbert Gagnaire said the company would use the funds to continue its growth trajectory.
“We have stayed focused on what we can deliver in a reasonable timeframe and partnered with leaders in niche markets that are addressable now,” he said.
The company will focus on automated solutions for material handling and shared passenger transport on private sites in the short to medium-term, while continuing to address public transport on open roads for the longer term.
“The participation of all of EasyMile’s earlier investors in the round is a strong vote of confidence in our expansion plan, and we are very happy to welcome Searchlight, McWin and NextStage and look forward to accelerating our growth thanks to their expertise,” added Gagnaire.
For EasyMile’s general manager, Benoit Perrin, it is a final step in the company’s pragmatic, strategic development to unlock scalability with technology that is ready for commercial application.
“This injection of capital validates EasyMile’s strategy and will allow us to finalize our technical development and finance our scaleup strategy. We’ll bring the technology up to a level that can be industrialized and deliver a real commercial service,” said Perrin.
Ralf Ackermann, Partner at Searchlight Capital, added: “We are excited to be investing in EasyMile at this critical juncture in the firm’s trajectory.
“Having observed its robust, quality-driven approach and industry-leading technology, we are confident that it is well positioned to scale commercially and are delighted to be part of the journey.”
Tao Partner acted as financial advisor to EasyMile.
