Oxbotica secures £14m funding to support global growth

Oxbotica has received £14 million investment from IP Group, Parkwalk Advisors and AXA XL (formerly XL Catlin) to accelerate global growth.

Founded in 2014 on research from Oxford University’s Robotics Institute, Oxbotica’s software uses the latest in computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence to enable vehicles to operate autonomously in any environment and on any terrain.

This has made it an "attractive solution" for many enterprises looking to increase efficiency, productivity and safety.

Oxbotica’s co-founder Paul Newman said: “The domain-agnostic design of our technology, as well as its independence from external infrastructure such as GPS, makes it uniquely versatile across a range of industries. This has allowed us to trade from day one, attracting a significant blue-chip customer base.

“Together with our customers and partners, my fellow founder Ingmar Posner and I look forward to taking our technology – and our products – to the next level.”

Its software has been deployed across multiple industry-leading projects where the future application of autonomy is being trialled, such as with Ocado, at Heathrow Airport and on major city streets.

Oxbotica’s chief executive Graeme Smith said: “This injection of funds comes as we move the business into its next growth phase, enabling us to deliver our ambitious plans to scale our capabilities and international presence. To help us achieve this, we are very pleased to welcome our investors to the company and Jamie Vollbracht from IP Group on to our board.”

Its control system, Selenium, allows vehicles to sense their surroundings, while Caesium, Oxbotica’s cloud-based fleet management system, can schedule and co-ordinate fleets of vehicles.

IP Group’s cleantech partner Jamie Vollbracht said: “I’m very much looking forward to working with the rest of the board and wider team to help capture the many benefits of this technology for all stakeholders.”

Jesse Norman MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Transport said: "As outlined in the Government’s Industrial Strategy, we see major potential for autonomous vehicles, and I salute cutting edge companies like Oxbotica that help to put Britain not just at the forefront of innovation, but innovation with global potential.”