Oxbotica raises $140 million investment to drive further growth worldwide

Oxbotica, a global leader in autonomous vehicle software, has raised US$140 million to deploy its operating system for Universal Autonomy™ in multiple commercial and industrial domains around the world.

The investment round includes new investors such as Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance Co., Ltd and ENEOS Innovation Partners.

BGF, which has backed the business since 2020, is reinvesting alongside bpventures, Halma, Hostplus, Kiko Ventures (IP Group), Ocado Group, Tencent, Venture Science and ZF, amongst other global companies.

With its headquarters in Oxford, Oxbotica has raised approximately US$225 million to date. BGF’s Thames Valley team has provided strategic and financial support to the business for the last two years, with funding helping to drive Oxbotica’s geographical expansion in North America, EMEA and APAC.

The latest investment will help to accelerate the deployment of Oxbotica’s ground-breaking 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.

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.

Gavin Jackson, CEO of Oxbotica

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.”

Will Gresty, investor at BGF, said: “Oxbotica is vastly accelerating the journey towards autonomous vehicles and this latest investment is testament to Gavin, Paul and the rest of the Oxbotica team’s ground-breaking work. Supporting pioneering companies at the forefront of technological innovation is at the heart of what we do at BGF. Oxbotica is a perfect example of our capacity to help drive growth in the tech sector and enable industries of the future to fulfil their potential.”

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 Ltd., Oxbotica is bringing the benefits of open autonomy to mining to improve safety and sustainability combined with lower operational costs.