Oxbotica raises $140m Series C investment to deploy universal autonomy

The Series C funding accommodates growing demand from new and current shareholders, with additional investors expected to sign on before the funding round closes in a few months.

The investment round includes financial and strategic partners from North America, EMEA and APAC, including new investors such as Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance and ENEOS Innovation Partners. Current Oxbotica shareholders who are re-investing include bp ventures, BGF, Halma, Hostplus, Kiko Ventures (IP Group), Ocado Group, Tencent, Venture Science and ZF, amongst other global companies. Following the announcement, Oxbotica has raised approximately $225 million to date. 

The funding will drive Oxbotica’s geographical expansion in North America, EMEA and APAC, and accelerate the deployment of its autonomy operating system in domains where there is both urgent need and potential to scale, such as agriculture, airports, energy, goods delivery, mining and shared passenger transportation.

The latest commitments signal continuing investor confidence in Oxbotica’s vision for Universal Autonomy – the ability of any vehicle, of any size, in any place to operate autonomously, safely and sustainably – and its proven record of breakthrough innovations which represent vital advances in commercialising AV technology. These include Europe’s first zero-occupancy trial on a publicly accessible road in May 2022, metaverse-based testing and collaborative alliances with the insurance sector, amongst others.   

Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxbotica, said: “This landmark investment from world-class investors is a tremendous validation of our strategy to apply self-driving technology where there is persistent and urgent demand – in supply chains, industrial sectors and in decongesting our cities.

We share a common purpose with our investors as well as our growing number of customers and partners to make the Earth move more safely, more sustainably and more efficiently. We’re invigorated by their confidence and are moving quickly to accelerate the benefits of autonomy for everyone.”

Paul Newman, CTO and a Founder of Oxbotica, said: “Oxbotica was founded eight years ago on the vision of Universal Autonomy – providing safe and sustainable autonomy that is independent of workplace and vehicle type. With the greatest engineering talent and experience, using the best of AI, robotics and the metaverse, we are delivering on that promise to create value for our customers, our communities and our planet. We welcome our new investors who share our bold vision to redefine the role of the human in the operation of vehicles.”

Mitsuru Yamaguchi, Senior Managing Executive Officer at Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance, said: ‘Oxbotica really sets itself apart from its competitors thanks to its ambitious vision to unlock Universal Autonomy. We are excited to combine Oxbotica’s world-class AI and robotic techniques with our own pioneering expertise in the telematics insurance arena. This will leave us well placed to develop innovative insurance products and services which will create a safer, greener and more secure society for everyone.”

Erin Hallock, Managing Partner at bp ventures, said: “We are excited to grow our investment in Oxbotica, which has become a global leader in autonomous vehicle software. Our sustained support is a great example of bp ventures’ continued investment in game-changing technology companies. By leveraging automation and digital technology we believe the team can improve safety and increase efficiency across a wide range of vehicles, and support bp’s ambition to accelerate the global revolution in mobility.”

In addition to high-calibre investors, Oxbotica attracts category-defining customers and partners, including Ocado Group, with which the company is collaborating on autonomous goods delivery to fulfil customer orders. The software-defined vehicle from partner Applied EV, driven by Oxbotica, has already operated with no on-board driver on a publicly accessible road in Oxford, marking a key milestone in commercialising its AV technology.

In partnership with Applied EV, bp, NEVS and ZF, autonomous passenger shuttles and industry-specific vehicles driven by Oxbotica will be launched in 2024. Meanwhile, together with Wenco International Mining Systems, Oxbotica is bringing the benefits of open autonomy to mining to improve safety and sustainability combined with lower operational costs.

Citi acted as a placement agent to Oxbotica. Foundational support for Oxbotica’s early innovations was provided by the UK government through the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles.