Buzzy autonomous automobile software program firm Applied Intuition has closed a $600 million Series F funding spherical, pushing its valuation as much as $15 billion.
The spherical was co-led by BlackRock-managed funds and Kleiner Perkins, and included new investments from the Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, Greycroft, and extra. Existing traders General Catalyst, Lux, Elad Gil, and Mary Meeker’s progress fund Bond additionally participated.
Applied Intuition’s elevate comes only one yr after it accomplished a $250 million Series E, which put the corporate at a $6 billion valuation. The firm makes software program that helps corporations and authorities companies develop autonomous automobile options. That contains simulation software program and managing knowledge.
“When they suppose like, ‘I’ve this software program or AI downside,’ we typically need them to consider us,” CEO Qasar Younis advised TechCrunch final yr. “Like we need to be that first name.”
Applied Intuition works with a lot of the main automakers, in addition to autonomous automobile corporations akin to Gatik and Kodiak.
The firm has additionally more and more pushed into the protection house. In its publication saying the funding spherical, Applied Intuition shared that it was requested by the U.S. Army to assist carry autonomous tech to a few of their autos. The firm was capable of take an infantry squad automobile from “bare-bones” to autonomous in simply 10 days. This included growing a “pedal-pushing robotic to bodily flip the wheel and press the throttle and brake pads.”
