AiMotive explained

aiMotive
Former Name:AdasWorks
Industry:Automotive technology
Founded:2015 in Budapest, Hungary
Founder:László Kishonti
Hq Location City:Budapest
Hq Location Country:Hungary
Num Employees:220 (2020)[1]

aiMotive (formerly AdasWorks) is an autonomous vehicle technology company.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] The company aims to work with automotive manufacturers and Tier1s to enable automated technologies.[7] aiMotive describes its approach as "vision-first", a system that primarily relies on cameras and artificial intelligence to detect its surroundings.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] The technology is designed to be implemented by automobile manufacturers to create autonomous vehicles, which can operate in all conditions and locations.[14] In September 2017, PSA Group teamed up with AImotive.[15] [16]

On December 22, 2022, the company was acquired by the multinational automotive manufacturing corporation, Stellantis.[17]

History

The company was founded in Budapest, Hungary as AdasWorks by Laszlo Kishonti in 2015. aiMotive is a spin-off of the founder's previous company, Kishonti Ltd, which was a computer hardware benchmarking company.[18] [19] In November 2016, the company changed its name to aiMotive.[5] [20] The company has closed four venture capital investment rounds. The first investment round of $2,500,000 was announced on 15 May 2015 and was led by Inventure Oy.[21] In a second round of funding the company received $10.5 million in funding from Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Draper Associates, Nvidia, Tamares Group and others. On 4 January 2018 aiMotive announced a Series C round of $38 million funded by investors B Capital Group, Prime Ventures and others.[22] [23] This round made aiMotive the second largest Hungarian-based startup based on venture capital investment.[24] In May 2020 the company announced a fourth investment round of US$20 million. The injection was led by earlier investors. AImotive outlined plans to expand with offices in Detroit (Michigan, US) and Munich (Germany).[25]

aiMotive first created a prototype which it tested on the Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix track, Hungaroring.[26]

The company received its first public road test license in Finland in spring 2017. aiMotive has similar test licenses in Hungary, the State of California,[27] and the State of Nevada. As of January 2018, the company tests its technology on Toyota, Citroen and Volvo models. The company's headquarters remained in Hungary. aiMotive has offices in Mountain View, California and Yokohama Japan.In 2016 Nvidia confirmed it was working with aiMotive (AdasWorks at the time) and Volvo within the DriveMe project.[28] In September 2017 aiMotive and PSA Groupe announced a partnership to develop a highway autopilot.[29] [30] [31] The same year aiMotive announced it was developing an artificial intelligence accelerator, branded as aiWare. aiMotive partnered with VeriSilicon and GlobalFoundries to create test chips of the architecture for use in its prototypes.[32] At the Consumer Electronics Show 2018 the Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center announced its DRVLINE platform in which aiMotive is listed as a software technology partner.[33]

The South Korean fabless semiconductor company, Nextchip has licensed aiWare for their Apache5[34] and Apache6[35] automotive domain processors.

aiMotive was listed as a partner of Sony's Vision-S concept car at CES 2021.[36] The company subsequently announced it was creating L2+ automated driving systems for the concept vehicle.[37]

In November 2022, it was announced aiMotive had been acquired by the multinational automotive manufacturing corporation, Stellantis.[38] The acquisition was completed in December 2022.

Technology

aiMotive is developing three branches of technology connected to autonomous vehicles. aiDrive is a software stack for automated driving. aiSim is a virtual simulation environment, and aiWare, a silicon IP for chips that compute artificial intelligence.[39]

aiDrive utilizes artificial intelligence and data from cameras and other sensors. aiMotive focuses on processing visual information, this approach is similar to that of Tesla,[40] which some industry experts consider risky.[41] The company tests its technology on highways in the United States and Europe.aiSim is a virtual simulation environment for testing autonomous vehicles. In spring 2020 aiMotive announced that the simulator had received ISO 26262 tool certification to TCL3.[42]

The hardware architecture by aiMotive is a dedicated embedded artificial intelligence accelerator optimized for but not limited to computer vision with high-resolution input.[43] In 2020 the company announced that it was collaborating with Hungarian space technology startup C3S to create neural network acceleration platforms for applications in space.[44] aiWare has also been integrated into NextChip's Apache5 imaging edge processor for automotive applications.[45]

In popular media

aiMotive was featured on the British television show Guy Martin vs The Robot Car which aired on 26 November 2017. In the show, British motorcycle racer and television personality Guy Martin visits the company's headquarters and participates in a test drive on a Hungarian Motorway.[46]

In December 2020, aiMotive CEO, László Kishonti participated in an online international panel discussion about the future of artificial intelligence with renowned researchers such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, Stuart J. Russell, George Tilesch, and György Buzsáki.[47]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Dahad. Nitin. June 23, 2020. Budapest Automated Driving Software Firm Raises $20m. March 10, 2021. EE Times Europe.
  2. Web site: This Start Up Uses AI and Cameras To Create New Autonomous Driving Platform. Kite-Powell. Jennifer. November 30, 2016. Forbes. February 23, 2018.
  3. Web site: Fully Autonomous AI Driving Company AImotive Expands to the US. Etherington. Darrell. November 15, 2016. TechCrunch. February 23, 2018.
  4. Web site: This fully autonomous AI company could be crucial for self-driving cars. November 16, 2016. Business Insider. December 29, 2017.
  5. Web site: AImotive launches self-driving automotive technology powered by artificial intelligence. November 14, 2016. Robotics & Automation News. December 29, 2017.
  6. Web site: AImotive develops "worldwide any weather" self-driving software. Collie. Scott. November 14, 2016. New Atlas. December 29, 2017.
  7. Web site: Gillet. Kit. June 22, 2020. AImotive raises $20m to become Europe's 'largest VC-backed automated driving company'. 2021-02-26. Sifted. en-US.
  8. Web site: Autonomous vehicle tech company AImotive positions itself for sale. November 14, 2016. Economic Times. December 29, 2017. May 7, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180507003050/https://auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/industry/autonomous-vehicle-tech-company-aimotive-positions-itself-for-sale/55422814. dead.
  9. Web site: PSA partners with AI startup for self-driving pilot. Burke. Katie. September 6, 2017. Autonews. December 29, 2017.
  10. Web site: This Self-Driving AI is Learning to Drive Almost Entirely in a Virtual World. Bates-Ramirez. Vanessa. December 18, 2017. Singularity Hub. January 22, 2018.
  11. Web site: Here's how AImotive is making systems for driverless cars inexpensive. Mukherjee. Sharmistha. March 6, 2017. Techseen. January 22, 2018.
  12. Web site: Software Company AImotive working to create affordable lidar alternative. Stumpf. Rob. May 15, 2017. The Drive. January 22, 2018.
  13. Web site: A Hungarian startup is betting cameras will help it deliver self-driving cars more quickly and cheaply than Waymo. Wolverton. Troy. December 12, 2017. Business Insider. January 22, 2018.
  14. Web site: Self-driving cars could soon be cheaper and easier to build. Baldwin. Roberto. May 12, 2017. Engadget. December 29, 2017.
  15. Web site: PSA Group and AImotive team up for French self-driving pilot – TechCrunch. techcrunch.com. 6 September 2017 . en-US. 2018-06-27.
  16. News: Here's How Volkswagen Aims To Sell Its Earliest And Dirtiest Cheating Diesels. King. Alanis. Jalopnik. 2018-06-27. en-US.
  17. News: Stellantis Completes Acquisition of aiMotive to Accelerate Autonomous Driving Journey. Stellantis. 2022-12-26. en-US.
  18. Web site: Q&A: AImotive's Vision-first Approach Propels Its Self-driving Car Strategy. Brown. Peter. September 25, 2017. Electroics 360. January 24, 2018.
  19. Web site: AImotive demos recognition software for self-driving cars. Takahashi. Dean. November 14, 2016. VentureBeat. January 22, 2018.
  20. Web site: AImotive aiDrive Level 5 Self-Driving Car Comes to US. Crowe. Steve. November 14, 2016. Robotics Trends. December 29, 2017.
  21. Automotive and AI startup AdasWorks closes $2.5 million Seria A round. July 29, 2015. Day One Capital. 2018-02-23.
  22. AImotive, leading provider of camera-first autonomous driving technology, raises $38 million USD Series C. January 4, 2018. AImotive. Budapest, Hungary & Mountain View, California. January 23, 2018.
  23. Web site: AImotive raises $38 million for self-driving car software. Takahashi. Dean. January 4, 2018. VentureBeat. January 22, 2018.
  24. Web site: Rég láttunk ilyet; 10 milliárdos befektetés a magyar autós startupnak [We haven't seen anything like this in a while: 10 billion HUF investment for the Hungarian Automotive Startup]]. Zsiborás. Gergő. January 4, 2018. Forbes.hu.
  25. Web site: Bolduc. Douglas A.. June 22, 2020. PSA driver-assist tech supplier to expand to Munich, Detroit. February 26, 2021. Automotive News Europe. en.
  26. Web site: Vezető nélkül körözött egy Mercedes a Hungaroringen [A Mercedes laps the Hungaroring without a driver]]. Gere. Tamás. January 25, 2015. Autonavigator.hu. January 24, 2018.
  27. Web site: Testing of Autonomous Vehicles. State of California Department of Motor Vehicles. January 22, 2018.
  28. News: Automotive Innovators Motoring to NVIDIA DRIVE NVIDIA Blog. January 4, 2016. The Official NVIDIA Blog. January 24, 2018. en-US.
  29. News: PSA Group and aiMotive team up for French self-driving pilot. Etherington. Darrell. September 6, 2017. TechCrunch. February 23, 2018. en.
  30. Web site: PSA pushes for autonomous future with AI tech firm partnership Autocar. September 6, 2017. www.autocar.co.uk. en. February 23, 2018.
  31. Web site: PSA Pushes for autonomous future with AI tech firm partnership. Crosse. Jesse. September 6, 2017. Autocar.co.uk. February 26, 2018.
  32. Web site: AImotive Expands Into Silicon IP for Deep Learning Inference Acceleration Berkeley Design Technology, Inc. July 27, 2017. www.bdti.com. en. February 23, 2018.
  33. News: Samsung Reveals DRVLINE Platform, Takes Bold Step Toward Autonomous Future - Samsung Newsroom. January 8, 2018. Samsung Newsroom. February 23, 2018. en-US.
  34. Web site: Clarke. Peter. October 14, 2019. AImotive licenses neural network IP to NextChip. 1 December 2021. eeNews. en.
  35. Web site: Flaherty. Nick. November 3, 2021. Nextchip licenses aiWare4 for automotive AI processor. 1 December 2021. eeNews Europe. en.
  36. Web site: Metz. Axel. January 21, 2020. CES 2021: Here's a better look at Sony's Vision-S electric car. 26 February 2021. TechRadar. en.
  37. Web site: Brown. Péter. January 13, 2021. CES 2021: AImotive and Sony team to advance software in self-driving cars. February 26, 2021. electronics360.globalspec.com.
  38. Web site: Hammerschmidt . Christoph . 2022-11-17 . Stellantis acquires AI startup aiMotive . 2022-11-17 . EENewsEurope . en-US.
  39. News: Hands Off the Wheel at 65mph - And Alive to Tell About It. Tara. Roopinder. December 13, 2017. Engineering.com. January 24, 2017.
  40. News: Elon Musk still doesn't think LIDAR is necessary for fully driverless cars. Hawkins. Andrew J.. February 7, 2018. The Verge. March 1, 2017.
  41. News: Wolverton. Troy. December 12, 2017. A Hungarian startup thinks it has the key to cheaper self-driving cars – but a ride in its test car suggests it has a lot of work ahead. Business Insider. January 22, 2017.
  42. Web site: Tyler. Niel. January 8, 2020. AImotive accelerates automated driving with first ISO 26262 certified simulator. February 26, 2021. www.newelectronics.co.uk.
  43. News: Vision is the next big challenge for chips. Morris. John. October 20, 2017. ZDNet. February 23, 2018. en.
  44. Web site: Etherlington. Darrell. July 7, 2020. Autonomous driving startup turns its AI expertise to space for automated satellite operation. February 26, 2021. TechCrunch. en-US.
  45. Web site: Dahad. Nitin. June 23, 2020. Budapest Automated Driving Software Firm Raises $20m. March 10, 2021. EE Times Europe.
  46. Web site: Review: Guy Martin vs The Robot Car. Butcher. David. Radio Times. January 24, 2018. January 24, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180124023623/http://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/fzxv82/guy-martin-vs-the-robot-car/. dead.
  47. Web site: Nagy. Nikoletta. December 2, 2020. Nem a gépektől, hanem az emberektől kell tartanunk. February 26, 2021. 24.hu. hu.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "AiMotive".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.