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Top 5 Driverless Startups – AI from Budapest to San Francisco

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Burney Simpson

Agree or disagree – the top 5 self-driving startups are AdasWorks, comma.ai, drive.ai, Nauto, and nuTonomy?

That’s the conclusion of the new analysis from CB Insights “Who’s Who in the Rise of Autonomous Driving Startups.”

CB Insights selected the five by using its ‘CB Insights Company Comparison Tool’ to look at small, early-stage startups that have raised funds this year. (It chose to disregard Zoox because it has already raised $100 million with a goal of garnering more than $200 million.)

Each firm has its own zing but the term artificial intelligence regularly arises as core to its work. In brief:

  • Budapest-based AdasWorks develops advanced driver assistance systems software for vision, artificial intelligence and navigation technologies. It has raised more than $8 million from such investors as Bosch Venture Capital, Nvidia, and Draper Associates.
  • San Francisco-based comma.ai plans to sell an aftermarket autonomous kit so owners of standard vehicles can get in the game. It is led by George Hotz, and backed with $3.1 million from Andreesen Horowitz.
  • Artificial intelligence software creator drive.ai was founded by a group at Stanford University’s Artificial Intelligence Lab. It was recently granted a license to test its vehicles on California roads. It has raised $12 million from undisclosed investors.
  • Nauto is based in Palo Alto, Calif., and has raised nearly $15 million from Draper Nexus Ventures, Playground Global, others. Nauto says it is building the “onramp to autonomous driving” with its “artificial-intelligence powered” connected camera network utilizing the Cloud. Targets fleets, insurance companies, professional drivers.
  • MIT spinoff nuTonomy is in the midst of testing autonomous taxis in a Singapore business park. It has raised nearly $20 million from Fontinalis Partners, Samsung Ventures, others.

MINING TERABYTES

CB Insights chose the five startups after it “mines terabytes of data and knowledge contained in patents, venture capital financings, M&A transactions, hiring, startup and investor websites, news sentiment, social media chatter, hiring activity, and more.”

Photo: Mercedes-Benz R&D Center by Design Milk, 2015.