Volvo Group Venture Capital AB has invested in Apex.AI, a software company in autonomous mobility. The investment will fund the development of a safety-certified software framework for autonomous systems. JLR’s InMotion Venture capital arm also announced investment in Apex.AI. The existing investors include Lightspeed Venture Partners, Canaan Partners, Toyota AI Ventures and Airbus Ventures.
Apex.AI, a Palo Alto, California-based company founded in 2017, is building an automotive-grade version of ROS (Robot Operating System), an established open source software framework commonly used in robotics and autonomous systems research. By providing a safer and more reliable version of ROS that will be certified according to the functional safety standard ISO 26262, Apex.AI enables companies to take their autonomous vehicle projects into production.
Products by the company are; Apex.OS, which is Safe and certified software framework for autonomous mobility systems, and Apex.Autonomy that is designed from the ground up with production and ISO 26262 certification in mind and implements proven, state-of-the art robotics algorithms.
The role of Volvo Group Venture Capital is to make investments in innovative companies at the forefront of service orientation as well as product differentiation and to support collaboration between startup companies and the Volvo Group. Based on the trends shaping the future of transportation and Volvo Group strategic priorities Volvo Group Venture Capital focus investment areas are today Autonomous Solutions, Connected Services and Electromobility. The scope is global with a focus on Europe and North America.
Some of the companies in which the group has invested recently are; Upstream Security, a Centralized Security & Analytics Platform for Connected & Autonomous Vehicle Fleets, Momentum Dynamics, a provider of high-power wireless charging for electric vehicles, and Peleton Technology, a company that works on Platooning technology.
“We are excited to invest in a company that enables easier development of safety-certified systems,” says Anna Westerberg, acting CEO of Volvo Group Venture Capital and SVP Volvo Group Connected Solutions.
“Apex.AI has a promising product offering with important commercial deployment potential for autonomous systems,” says Dan Tram, Investment Director of Volvo Group Venture Capital, who is based in Silicon Valley.
Sebastian Peck, Managing Director, InMotion Ventures, said: “InMotion Ventures is excited to back Apex.AI. Co-founders Jan and Dejan have assembled a highly experienced team to deliver safe and certified software for autonomous mobility, which closely aligns with Jaguar Land Rover’s ‘Destination Zero’ vision for the future of the industry. We have the ambition to make our societies safer and our environment cleaner. With investments in companies like Apex.AI, our journey toward Destination Zero has already begun.”
Source: Press Release
