Applied Intuition Secures $600 Million in Funding, Pushing Valuation to $15 Billion

Applied Intuition raises $600 million as it pushes further into defense | TechCrunch

Buzzy autonomous vehicle software company Applied Intuition has closed a $600 million Series F funding round, pushing its valuation up to $15 billion. The round was co-led by BlackRock-managed funds and Kleiner Perkins, and included new investments from the Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, Greycroft, and more. Existing investors General Catalyst, Lux, Elad Gil, and Mary Meeker's growth fund Bond also participated. Applied Intuition's raise comes just one year after it completed a $250 million Series E, which put the company at a $6 billion valuation. The company makes software that helps companies and government agencies develop autonomous vehicle solutions. That includes simulation software and managing data. "When they think like, 'I have this software or AI problem,' we generally want them to think about us," CEO Qasar Younis told TechCrunch last year. "Like we want to be that first call." Applied Intuition works with most of the major automakers, as well as autonomous vehicle companies such as Gatik and Kodiak. The company has also increasingly pushed into the defense space. In its newsletter announcing the funding round, Applied Intuition shared that it was asked by the U.S. Army to help bring autonomous tech to some of their vehicles. The company was able to take an infantry squad vehicle from "bare-bones" to autonomous in just 10 days. This included developing a "pedal-pushing robot to physically turn the wheel and press the throttle and brake pads."

Applied Intuition Hits $15 Billion Valuation for AI Vehicle Tech

Applied Intuition Inc. -- a startup developing technology for autonomous vehicles, drones and more -- has raised $600 million from investors in a deal that more than doubles its valuation to $15 billion. The financing, which the company plans to announce Tuesday, was co-led by BlackRock-managed funds and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Additional investors include Franklin Templeton, the Qatar Investment Authority, Lux Capital, BOND and General Catalyst. The new deal is a significant valuation jump from $6 billion last year.

Applied Intuition valued at $15 billion in latest fund raise

June 17 (Reuters) - Applied Intuition secured a $15 billion valuation in a funding round where it raised $600 million, the automotive software supplier said on Tuesday, signaling a strong investment appetite for commercialized autonomous vehicle technology. The funding was co-led by BlackRock-managed funds and accounts (BLK.N), opens new tab alongside venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. New investors included Franklin Templeton and Qatar Investment Authority, the company said. The funds will help Applied Intuition double down on investments in autonomous technology at a time when companies across the auto sector attempt to ramp up their push for self-driving cars. "We're scaling up our investments in bringing intelligence into every moving machine," said Qasar Younis, co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition. The Mountain View, California-based company, whose customers include Toyota (7203.T), opens new tab and Volkswagen (VOWG.DE), opens new tab, also partnered with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI last week, aiming to leverage AI to personalize driving experience. Reporting by Utkarsh Shetti and Ateev Bhandari in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Autos & TransportationADAS, AV & SafetySoftware-Defined Vehicle

Vehicle intelligence startup Applied Intuition raises $600M at $15B valuation - SiliconANGLE

The company's Series F financing was co-led by Blackrock-managed funds and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Additional funding came from Kleiner Perkins, Fidelity Management & Research, Lux Capital, BOND, Elad Gil, General Catalyst, Franklin Templeton and almost a half-dozen others. "We envision a world where vehicles do more than move people or goods," said co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Peter Ludwig. "Whether it's a car, a military drone or heavy equipment, each becomes an intelligence system that will anticipate needs and protect what matters most." This funding comes around a year after AI raised $250 million at a $6 billion valuation led by Lux Capital and Elad Gil. More recently, the company entered into a partnership with OpenAI to enhance AI-powered in-vehicle experiences. As part of the deal, OpenAI's ChatGPT was made available to Applied Intuition employees. Applied Intuition's platform provides every layer for autonomy and design for consumer, industrial and defense. For consumer development, this means intelligent in-vehicle experiences by adding conversational, multimodal voice assistance and generative AI context-aware interactions inside and outside the vehicle. For enterprise-scale operations, AI assists with massive-scale data and machine learning infrastructure, neural simulation, AI agents and full vehicle testing to develop and validate next-generation automated driving and general vehicle software. In real-world operations, this results in full fleet and operational intelligence for efficient management and safety using real-time data, route optimization and automated reporting. "Vehicle intelligence isn't just about adding another feature -- it's a fundamental shift. It's about making vehicles safer, smarter, and more adaptable, and doing it at scale," said co-founder and Chief Executive Qasar Younis.

Autonomous Vehicle Startup Applied Intuition Raises $600 Million for AI | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. The financing more than doubles the company's valuation to $15 billion, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday (June 17) ahead of a formal announcement. Applied Intuition, the report notes, works with 18 of the world's biggest carmakers -- including Toyota and Volkswagen -- to integrate its tech into their vehicles and improve safety. The company, founded eight years ago, was an early entrant into the artificial intelligence (AI) space, Bloomberg added. "It's not random" that letters A and I are the company's initials, Qasar Younis, co-founder and chief executive officer, told Bloomberg. The new funding will help Applied Intuition put its technology "into every moving machine," including "everything from cars and trucks to drones and factories," added Younis. The CEO said that an initial public offering (IPO) is a short-term goal for Applied Intuition, pending market conditions. He said Tuesday's funding is "probably the last round we'll raise before we go public." PYMNTS wrote earlier this year about the integration of AI into cars following a panel discussion at the CES expo in Las Vegas. Taking part in that discussion were three leading industry experts on the digital transformation within the automotive sector: Wassym Bensaid, chief software officer, Rivian; Patrick Brady, vice president Android Automotive, Google; and Nakul Duggal, group GM, Automotive, Industrial & Embedded IoT, and Cloud Computing, Qualcomm. "I feel comfortable saying that AI in the car will happen faster than use cases in the phone, and that only happens if you get an ecosystem working together," said Duggal. Brady, meanwhile, noted that AI capabilities will be crucial in framing the future of automotive technology. "As you bring AI into the vehicle, I think it will completely transform the customer experience," he said. "It will be truly conversational and natural. It will see what the car sees and help you when you drive. It's going to be an explosion of innovation in this space." As this ecosystem evolves, the digital potential for cars seems without limit, the experts said. "The end goal should be using AI that can transform the experience and help us unlock having that voice-first experience," Bensaid said. "Having more powerful hardware will help you get to that level of latency and performance and create greater engagement from customers. "The best compliment we can get is when customers don't realize there is software behind what they're doing."