Robotic Research raises $228 million in Series A funding round

Robotic Research, a developer of autonomous mobility and robotics solutions, has raised $228 million in its Series A funding round – the first outside capital the company has raised.

This funding will drive further innovation and expansion of Robotic Research’s commercial division, RR.AI, which is focused on delivering comprehensive autonomous driving solutions for commercial truck, bus, drayage and logistics vehicles.

Investors in the Series A round include SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Enlightenment Capital, Crescent Cove Advisors, Henry Crown and Company, and Luminar Technologies.

Alberto Lacaze, CEO, Robotic Research, says: “This investment reflects our success in developing autonomous solutions for our US government customers, and will provide the resources needed to meet our growing commercial customer demand and the expansion of our commercial efforts.

“Our long history and experience has enabled us to develop a proven solution that is not only rugged, safe, and reliable, but also versatile and ideal for operating across a variety of environments, weather conditions, and use cases.”

Robotic Research has successfully deployed autonomous and robotics solutions on roadways around the globe as well as in the industry’s harshest, unstructured environments.

The company’s vehicle-agnostic autonomy kit, AutoDrive, has already been integrated in a variety of vehicles including North America’s first automated heavy-duty transit bus, Class 8 trucks, and yard trucks.

AutoDrive can be used on-road, off-road, or in the yard, making it uniquely suited to provide a 360° autonomous driving solution that spans a variety of complex operational design domains.

Akshay Naheta, senior vice president of SoftBank Group and former managing partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, says: “We believe that autonomous vehicle technology has the potential to reshape how goods and people are moved around.

“Robotic Research has a track record of operating in the commercial sector and has built a differentiated autonomy solution by focusing on tangible, revenue-generating opportunities.

“We are thrilled to be a financial partner and provide resources needed to accelerate the commercialization of Robotic Research’s solutions.”

This is the first strategic equity investment to date by Luminar, a global leader in automotive-grade lidar hardware and software technology. Robotic Research is working alongside Luminar on strategic opportunities to advance autonomy and has selected Luminar as its long-range lidar provider.

UBS Investment Bank acted as financial advisor and placement agent for Robotic Research. Cravath, Swaine & Moore acted as legal advisor, and Covington & Burling acted as special counsel to Robotic Research.

Main image: Robotics Research’s vehicle-agnostic autonomy kit, AutoDrive, has already been integrated in a variety of vehicles including North America’s first autonomous heavy-duty transit bus, Class 8 trucks, and yard trucks. (Photo: Business Wire)