Overland AI Secures $10M in Seed Funding to Accelerate Development of Autonomous Vehicle Software for High-Risk Missions
20 Mayo 2024 - 11:00AM
Overland AI, a Seattle-based pioneer in off-road ground vehicle
autonomy for the defense sector, today announced it has secured $10
million in seed funding, led by Point72 Ventures with participation
from Shasta Ventures, Ascend VC, Pioneer Square Labs, Voyager
Capital, and Cubit Capital.
In addition to fueling Overland AI’s plans to increase its
workforce — with a focus on hiring top engineering talent — the
financing will support expanded development and testing of the
company’s OverDrive software, a vehicle-agnostic solution that
enables autonomous navigation of off-road terrain in any
environmental conditions at speeds up to 45 mph.
The technology is poised to meet a growing demand for autonomous
off-road capabilities — particularly in the defense sector, where
emerging innovations are accelerating the pace of advanced robotics
adoption to enhance safety in the field. The U.S. Army and Defense
Innovation Unit (DIU) recently awarded a $18.6 million ceiling
prototype Other Transaction (OT) agreement to Overland AI to adapt
its OverDrive technology to drive autonomous vehicles capable of
traversing complex terrain in contested areas. In addition,
Overland AI was recently selected as a performer on Phase II of the
DARPA RACER program to continue advanced capability development and
demonstration of OverDrive in operationally-relevant terrain. The
demonstrations feature OverDrive integrated into heavy tracked
platforms similar in size to forthcoming robotic and optionally
manned combat/fighting vehicles, and the lightweight wheeled
vehicles already in use.
“We are committed to the advancement of ground vehicle autonomy
to support national security and minimize risk to our warfighters,”
said Byron Boots, co-founder and CEO of Overland AI. “With this
funding, we can accelerate development and create high-performance
ground autonomy software designed for uncrewed vehicles in any
contested terrain.”
The Overland AI team has a long history of working on off-road
autonomy problems in a research capacity before forming the
company. In addition to his role as CEO of Overland AI, Boots is
the Amazon Endowed Professor of Machine Learning at the Paul G.
Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering at University of
Washington (UW). Boots’ Robot Learning Lab at UW has pioneered new
machine learning approaches to robotics and control, and has
collaborated with the U.S. Army Research Lab and DARPA on several
research programs over the past 10 years.
To learn more about Overland AI and see open roles, visit
www.overland.ai.
About Overland AI
Overland AI is the world leader in autonomous ground mobility
for complex and contested off-road environments. Founded in 2022
and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Overland AI boasts an
expert team with decades of experience in machine learning,
robotics, and autonomous systems. Overland AI’s OverDrive software
represents a giant leap forward for ground autonomy and is the
result of the team’s bold approach to systems development -
iterating fast, learning by pushing solutions to their limits in
the field, and moving quickly to incorporate the latest
advancements into the software — all with a goal of radically
transforming autonomous land operations to be more safe, reliable,
and resilient.
Media Contact
Kristen Hoffkristen@firecrackerpr.comFirecracker
PR1-888-317-4687 ext. 702
Photos accompanying this announcement are available
at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d6bab558-0bf3-4976-a94e-0f6b27272fc5https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b65996cb-f675-4cf9-8301-f686b7ecfba6