British autonomous vehicle startup Oxa raised US$103 million in the first close of its Series D funding round.
The funding round was led by Nvidia, with backing from the UK’s National Wealth Fund, in a boost to the country’s technology sector.
The fundraising round includes an initial $50 million commitment from the National Wealth Fund, owned by the Treasury and Nvidia’s venture capital arm NVentures.
Oxa was founded in 2014 and now focuses on the automation of repetitive industrial serving tasks, like the towing and carrying of goods in ports, airports and factories.
The latest investor round also includes capital from existing shareholders. This includes the London-listed IP-Group, which invests in British tech companies, Australian superannuation fund Hotplus and BP Ventures, the UK oil company’s arm that backs innovative technologies.
Oxa’s co-founder and chief technology officer, Paul Newman, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the investment was “great for the UK”.
He also said the company exported passenger-carrying software to the U.S., used to transport 20,000 people, but has decided that the market was too complex, given regulatory uncertainty around road autonomy for passenger cars.
“We think the economics of that are very challenging for us,” Newman, who also leads the Oxford Robotics Institute, said.
“The economics of having a business in autonomy that works off-highway is cracking.”
The company has also received grants from the UK government in the past.
“Oxa is a great example of UK excellence in digital technologies that are transforming the global automotive sector, and this investment will boost productivity and improve freight efficiency at home and abroad,” UK minister for industry Chris McDonald said.
“With advanced manufacturing and digital technologies being central to our modern industrial strategy, we’re supporting firms like Oxa to strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in connected and automated mobility.”
