There are many companies out there which are working on delivering the holy grail of fully autonomous, self-driving cars for mass use, on all road types. This is of course the largest and potentially most lucrative application of autonomous driving technology, but the road to the mass market is long and the end isn’t yet in sight. There are specific, niche uses for this technology that are ready to be capitalized on right now, and it is catering to some of these niches that has enabled French automotive startup EasyMile to raise $66 million (€55 million) in a Series B round of funding. The company builds transport shuttles that are used for both people and goods and are already operating globally. The capital raised will be used primarily to scale EasyMile’s operations.
As of now, EasyMile claims to hold a 60% share of the global autonomous shuttle market. Its vehicles are operational in a total of 30 countries at 300 locations and to date they have covered more than 800,000 kilometers. These figures are being generated by just 180 deployed vehicles, but it does show the potential of the market. It is this potential that EasyMile is hoping to tap into and take advantage of with its expansion plans.
The main area that EasyMile is aiming to expand on is its vehicle deployments in closed-campus environments. In the future it also aims to tap into the public transportation market, but this is more of a long-term plan than an immediate action. EasyMile Founder and CEO Gilbert Gagnaire said it was this strategy that would enable it to continue on its upward trajectory, as he explained in a statement “We have stayed focused on what we can deliver in a reasonable timeframe and partnered with leaders in niche markets that are addressable now.” Gagnaire went on to credit EasyMile’s initial investors and new funders. “The participation of all of EasyMile’s earlier investors in the round is a strong vote of confidence in our expansion plan, and we are very happy to welcome Searchlight, McWin and NextStage and look forward to accelerating our growth thanks to their expertise.”
Searchlight Capital Partners were the funding lead with this round, and Ralf Ackermann, a partner at Searchlight Capital, had this to say. “We are excited to be investing in EasyMile at this critical juncture in the firm’s trajectory. Having observed its robust, quality-driven approach and industry-leading technology, we are confident that it is well positioned to scale commercially and are delighted to be part of the journey.”
The self-driving and autonomous vehicle sector has faced a number of challenges in recent years, with headline-grabbing accidents denting confidence in the technology and other difficulties leading companies to change hands and restrategize. EasyMile is hoping that by focusing on the niche market it is currently dominating, it will continue to grow and be best poised to take full advantage of future developments. In a statement, EasyMile GM Benoit Perrin gave an indication of the company’s current and future plans. “This injection of capital validates EasyMile’s strategy and will allow us to finalize our technical development and finance our scaleup strategy. We’ll bring the technology up to a level that can be industrialized and deliver a real commercial service.”
Image credit: EasyMile
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Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2021/05/03/easymile-raises-66-million-to-scale-its-autonomous-transport-for-goods-passengers/
