BMW i Ventures

Autonomous and connected technologies shaping the future of the auto industry

Auto Tech

Israeli startup Upstream Security provides a cloud-based centralized cybersecurity and analytics platform dubbed “AutoThreat,” for connected and autonomous vehicles. Its platform - pitched toward automotive OEMs, Tier-1/-2 suppliers, and mobility services providers - uses vehicle data to secure vehicles against cyberattacks and to generate data-driven actionable insights for insurance, predictive maintenance, business intelligence, etc. The company claims to be the first cloud-based solution that protects connected and autonomous cars from the cloud. It also <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27764">integrates GenAI technologies </a>to facilitate the analysis and management of extensive cyber data and alerts. The company has offices and representatives in Israel, the US, Europe, and Asia.Key customers and partnershipsAs of February 2024, the company reportedly monitored 25 million vehicles worldwide.&nbsp;Upstream Security has technology partnerships with&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35764">Google Cloud,</a> Arilou, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM, Karamba Security, Microsoft Azure, Salesforce, and Sital Technology and also maintains partnerships with managed security service providers (MSSPs) and system integrators such as Accenture, Atos, BT Security, Capgemini, Deloitte, Fujitsu, HCL Technologies, Hitachi, IBM, Nippon Telegraphic and Telephone, Orange, Tata Consulting Services, and Tech Mahindra.

Israeli startup Autobrains (formerly known as Cartica AI) develops patented artificial intelligence (AI)-based video perception technology for self-driving vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Autobrains offers a portfolio of hardware-agnostic perception software stacks, including 1) AB Entry, for entry-level ADAS Smart Cameras, targeting Level 1 to 2 automated driving levels; 2) AB Volume &amp; AB Premium, for premium front-facing ADAS smart-camera or entry-level ADAS Domain Control Unit (ADCU), for automated driving levels 2 and higher; and 3) AB Luxury, a scalable, modular software stack for higher level ADAS and AD Domain Controllers.&nbsp;Autobrains also launched 1)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33947">“Air2Roads,”</a> a localization technology for ADAS and autonomous driving solutions, and 2)&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35108">“Skills,”</a> a product line for autonomous/automated driving that offers modular and scalable AI solutions for specific driving scenarios.The company aims to build technology with Level 4 and 5 autonomy (i.e., for fully autonomous vehicles limited to specific locations and/or conditions and for autonomous vehicles to navigate in all weather conditions without human interventions, respectively) by 2024. As of March 2022, Autobrains had more than 250 technology-related patents filed.Key customers and partnershipsAutobrains has product partnerships with companies such as CalAmp, a provider of internet of things (IoT) software applications, to integrate the latter’s plug-and-play on-board diagnostic (OBD) devices and telematics systems with Autobrains platform (June 2017); automotive parts manufacturer Continental, to develop ADAS and autonomous vehicle tech (June 2021); and Ambarella, an AI vision silicon company, to develop ADAS (December 2021). In January 2023, it partnered with Ambarella and Seeing Machines, a developer of vision-based monitoring technology, to offer combined front ADAS and driver monitoring solutions in a single box, using a single system-on-chip (SoC).&nbsp;

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 Recogni offers a visual perception platform for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and vehicles with Level 2 to Level 4 automation (i.e., Level 2 refers to vehicles that can control both the speed and the steering but require a vigilant safety driver; Level 4 refers to fully autonomous vehicles limited to specific locations and/or conditions). Recogni's AI-powered perception inference chip Scorpio reportedly enables object detection accuracy up to ~300m in real time under multiple road/environmental conditions. It can also process multiple streams of ultra-high resolution and very high frame rate cameras. The company also claims that the product has low latency and consumes less power.&nbsp;
 
 
 In 2023, Recogni launched the Phoenix ADAS/AD, a computing platform for autonomous driving and advanced driving assistance system applications for autonomous driving applications. The platform combines Scorpio AI processor and the Renesas R-Car V4H ASIL D support processor, for configurations up to 2,000 TOPS, reportedly the highest TOPS per watt capacity on the market. It also 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18256">
 offers a software development kit
 </a>
 (SDK) for its high-performance computer (to be made available in Q3 2023).
 
 
 The company started initial customer field tests in 2022 and has operations in the US and in Germany.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26755">
 In February 2024,
 </a>
 Recogni raised USD 102 million in a Series C funding round co-led by Celesta Capital and GreatPoint Ventures, to develop its next-generation systems for AI inference solutions.
 
 
 
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Toyota and BMW-backed May Mobility develops self-driving technology pitched toward autonomous shuttle services for public transportation. Its proprietary multi-policy decision-making (MPDM) autonomous driving technology comes with a suite of sensors including LiDAR, radar, and cameras to create a 360-degree view of surroundings <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17125">(third-generation system released in March 2023) </a>. The technology can be integrated into multiple platforms such as buses or cars.As of February 2024, May Mobility had active autonomous shuttle services deployed in cities in Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17972">Arizona,</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21984">California</a>. The company claimed to have completed 350,000+ autonomous rides as of October 2023 (includes now inactive deployments in geographies including Hiroshima [Japan] and Indiana). May Mobility was yet to commence commercial operations as of January 2024, and these rides were offered free of charge to customers, with costs being borne by partnering companies. The company has driverless operations in Sun City, Arizona&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25063">in (December 2023)</a> and Ann Arbor, Michigan&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/36320">(November 2024).</a>However, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26710">in February 2024, </a>May Mobility announced layoffs of roughly 13% of its workforce (about 40 employees), to focus on its main business objectives.Key customers and partnershipsMay Mobility has product development partnerships with companies as Toyota to retrofit its tech into Toyota’s vehicles (January 2022; <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/26500">announced plans </a>to launch robotaxi services in Odaiba, Japan by mid 2024); Bridgestone Americas for tire technology (March 2022); and Aeva for LiDAR sensors <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23631">(November 2023). </a>The company also has partnerships with wheelchair-accessible van manufacturer BraunAbility to modify its fleet of Toyota Sienna vehicles to include wheelchair access (April 2022); SoftBank to obtain 5G network services for deployments in Japan (June 2022); Stantec, a design and engineering company, to develop autonomous micro-transit solutions <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17349">(March 2023); </a>mobility service provider, Moovit to integrate its urban mobility app and on-demand reservation and routing software <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17698">(April 2023) </a>; and shared mobility solutions provider Liftango to create demand-responsive autonomous microtransit solutions <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23073">(October 2023).</a>The company has partnered with cities and authorities (e.g.,&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31213">Southwest Transit Commission,</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30371">City of Detroit Office of Mobility Innovation and the Michigan Mobility Collaborative,</a> City of Arlington, City of Grand Rapids, The Indiana Economic Development Corporation,&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33594">Contra Costa Transportation Authority),</a> universities (e.g., University of Texas, Arlington), transit tech and ride-hail companies (e.g.,&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17972">Via,</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35718">Lyft),</a> and nonprofits (e.g., Toyota Mobility Foundation, Energy Systems Network) for its active and past deployments. As announced&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23570">in November 2023,</a> NTT will have&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23510">exclusive rights</a> to sell May Mobility's self-driving system in Japan. The companies will also work with Toyota for autonomous vehicle testing in Japan.

Ridecell develops an internet of things (IoT)-driven automation and mobility platform for fleets. Its cloud-based data platform, launched in April 2021, integrates data from sensors and multiple IT systems to digitize fleet management. Ridecell’s Fleet Transformation Cloud Platform provides a data pipeline and APIs to connect existing IT, fleet management, and connected vehicle systems, which enables turning data insights into triggers for workflow automations. The platform combined with pre-integrated partner solutions enables fleet operators to manage fleet data, automate workflows, digital vehicle control, vehicle access, repairs, and scheduling. Ridecells portfolio of fleet automation solutions include 1) Operations 360, to automate fleet operations and life cycle management for every phase of the vehicle’s life cycle using real-time data; 2) Sustainability, an offering with a sustainability focus (e.g., automatic idle reduction, driver optimization); and 3) Shared; 4) Rental; and 5) Fleet share solutions to cater to different operational models. The company pitches the product toward logistics, rental, motor pool, and shared fleets. Key customers and partnershipsAs of March 2022, the company’s platform was used in fleets in European and North American cities, and its customers include Ferrovial, Groupe Renault, GIG Car Share (powered by AAA NCNU), KINTO by Toyota Sweden, Arval Car Sharing, and Thrifty Car &amp; Van Rental. Ridecell also leverages partnerships with various service providers such as telematics, keyless entry and immobilizers, diagnostics, monetization, insurance, marketing, and cloud platforms to enable fleet automation integrations. The company’s integration partners include Amazon Web Services, Denso, Checkr, Geotab, Salesforce, Hella, Sisense, Stripe, Continental and Jumio.

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 Nauto develops advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for commercial fleets and autonomous vehicles on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) basis. Its products include predictive collision alerts, driver behavior alerts, self-guided coaching, manager-led coaching, incident reporting, on-demand videos, and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22786">
 telematic capabilities for vehicle insights.
 </a>
 The solutions combine predictive artificial intelligence (AI), data science technologies, and more than 1 billion AI-analyzed video driving miles. The company claims to contribute to up to 80% reduction in distracted driving, collisions, and losses. Nauto is also reportedly the only AI-enabled platform that impacted driver behavior in real-time, which it claimed has led to the avoidance of 70,000+ collisions, resulting in a ~USD 300 million savings (as of February 2024).
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 The company had nearly 800 partnering customers worldwide as of February 2024. Its industry partners include Allianz, Toyota, SoftBank, Geotab, Orix, General Motors, BrightDrop, Herr Foods, and NAFA Fleet Management Association.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19529">
 In June 2023,
 </a>
 Nauto secured a strategic investment from Stellantis Ventures, the venture capital arm of automaker Stellantis, to extend its safety benefits to more light commercial vehicles and, eventually, to consumer vehicles.
 
 
 
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Electrifying passenger and commercial travel

EV Economy

Our Next Energy (ONE) is a Michigan-based energy storage company that develops lithium iron phosphate (LFP) EV batteries. These, unlike lithium-ion batteries, use little to no nickel or cobalt.ONE is developing three types of LFP batteries: Aries I, Aries II, and Gemini. <a href="https://one.ai/batteries/aries">Aries I </a>is a 79 kWh battery that provides a range of 150 miles on a single charge. The battery is capable of running 3,000 cycles with daily charging of up to 100% without degradation. It is currently being produced at ONE’s Michigan factory. According to the company, the scalable architecture of the battery allows it to fit into a range of applications including trucks, boats, homes, and grids.<a href="https://one.ai/batteries/aries-ii">Aries II </a>is a customizable EV battery that the company claims provides the highest energy density per cell of any LFP battery on the market—441 watt-hours per liter (Wh/L). The 100 kWh battery is capable of powering a range of passenger EVs including SUVs, sedans, and light trucks. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21196">August 2023</a>, ONE reported that its Aries II battery pack has closed the gap in range and mass to within 6% of leading nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery packs currently used in EVs.<a href="https://one.ai/batteries/gemini">Gemini </a>is a dual-chemistry battery designed to increase the range of EVs through the use of two cells: an LFP cell for daily driving and an anode-free cell for longer trips. Gemini’s LFP cell delivers 441 Wh/L, with a range of 150 miles on a charge. After 150 miles, it switches to the anode-free cell, which charges the LFP cell. The anode-free cell, which has an energy density of 1,007 Wh/L, provides an additional range of 450 miles. Combined, the two cells deliver more than 600 miles on a single charge.In <a href="https://one.ai/news/onecircle">October 2022</a>, ONE invested USD 1.6 billion to develop a new battery cell manufacturing plant known as “ONE Circle,” in Michigan. The facility was expected to operate at its full annual capacity of 20 GWh by the end of 2027. The company intended to manufacture enough cells to produce 240,000 Aries II and Gemini packs annually from 2023 onwards.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://one.ai/news/bmw">June 2022</a>, ONE partnered with BMW to incorporate Gemini into a BMW iX all-electric sports activity vehicle. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19408">June 2023</a>, the company signed a joint development agreement with Nano One Materials to collaborate on the validation, qualification, and production of a North American supply of LFP cathode active materials (CAM).Funding and financials&nbsp;In <a href="https://one.ai/news/one-raises-300-million-in-series-b-equity-valuing-the-company-at-over-1-billion">February 2023</a>, ONE raised USD 300 million in a Series B funding round led by Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton. This brings the company's total funding to USD 390 million, setting the company’s post-money valuation at USD 1.2 billion. The company was to use the funds to launch ONE Circle LFP cell factory, which was already receiving USD 200 million in grants from the state of Michigan.

AMPECO, an EV charging management software developer, offers a white label and hardware-agnostic EV charging management platform, which covers all business cases—public, business, fleet, and residential charging. This solution enables EV charging providers to launch and scale their business operations under their own brand while freely choosing their hardware partners. Furthermore, AMPECO provides services such as energy management, flexible billing and subscription management, automatic maintenance algorithms, and inter-operator roaming through its platform.Since 2018, the company has established a strong presence in both Europe and North America, with over 120 customers in more than 45 markets, representing over 62,000 charging points.Funding and financials In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15970">January 2023</a>, AMPECO raised USD 16 million in a Series A funding round led by BMW i Ventures. The funding was to be used to further expand operations in North America and grow the company’s engineering and production innovation teams.

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 Solid Power develops solid-state lithium-metal batteries for EV, aircraft, satellites, and industrial applications. Solid Power's proprietary sulfide solid electrolyte powers the flexible All-Solid-State Platform that can enable both high-content silicon and lithium metal in the anode, paired with industry-standard and commercially mature cathodes, including lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC). The platform can also use low-cost and energy conversion type cathodes that cannot be used in lithium-ion or other liquid-based cell architectures. When combined with a lithium metal anode, the conversion type cathodes could remove cobalt and nickel from the cathode entirely to decrease cathode material costs by around 90%, according to the company.
 
 
 In 2022, Solid Power began production of 20 ampere-hour (Ah) solid-state batteries on a pilot manufacturing line using lithium-ion production processes and equipment. The company also commenced operations of its second production facility in Denver, Colorado in September 2021.&nbsp;
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14468">
 November 2022
 </a>
 , Solid Power began deliveries of its 20 Ah cells to joint development partners, including BMW, for initial testing. In 
 <a href="https://ir.solidpowerbattery.com/news-releases/news-release-details/solid-power-releases-third-quarter-2023-results-ships-first">
 October 2023
 </a>
 , the company delivered its first A Sample EV cells to BMW to begin the automotive qualification process. The A-1 EV cells were to also support BMW&rsquo;s demo car program.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Solid Power had investments or partnerships with automakers such as Ford, BMW, and Hyundai as well as Japanese auto-parts maker Sanoh Industrial.&nbsp;
 
 
 &nbsp;Funding and financials
 
 
 In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/15723">
 January 2023
 </a>
 , the US Department of Energy awarded Solid Power USD 5.6 million in funding to develop a 3D-structured Li metal anode and sulfur composite cathode for high-energy and fast-charging EV battery cells.
 
 
 Solid Power was listed on Nasdaq through a SPAC merger in December 2021. The deal raised USD 542.9 million at a valuation of USD 1.2 billion. The proceeds were to be used to fund the company&rsquo;s capital-light business model through vehicle integration, which was planned for 2026. The transaction made Solid Power the first listed pure-play solid-state battery company. Solid Power&rsquo;s revenue guidance for 2023 ranges between USD 15 million and USD 20 million. 
 
 
 
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 ChargePoint manufactures and operates EV charging stations. The company operates the largest EV charging network in the US, with a market share of around 47% as of 2020. ChargePoint does not participate in revenue generated from charging fees; it sells the charging infrastructure to third-party hosts (parking lots, supermarkets, fuel stations, residential properties, etc.). These hosts are eligible for the entire charging fee revenue or could opt to provide the service for free.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 The company provides both hardware and software charging solutions. Hardware solutions include Level 1, Level 2, and DC fast-charging stations. Hosts can also subscribe to software solutions that enable them to manage and optimize charging stations. Some SaaS features include being able to set the price for charging, enabling a waitlist for drivers to queue efficiently, integrations with fleet fuel cards, and real-time advanced analytics to monitor the performance and health of a charging station. ChargePoint estimates a 51%&ndash;49% split between hardware and software revenue throughout the useful life of a charging station (around seven years). In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22908">
 October 2023
 </a>
 , the company reported that it is preparing to provide North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector support for its AC and DC charging solutions in the form of cable conversion kits for its customers. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29225">
 April 2024
 </a>
 , ChargePoint partnered with Jumptech to provide an efficient home charger installation experience for fleet ChargePoint customers and reduce the average time from charger order to installation.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 ChargePoint had deployed 163,000+ charging stations across North America and Europe as of January 2022.&nbsp;
 
 
 In January 2023, the company partnered with Stem in January 2023 to accelerate the deployment of EV-charging and battery storage solutions for highway corridor DC fast charging. In April 2023, ChargePoint partnered with ALD Automotive to create a European EV-charging business and provide access to a charging network of over 485,000 charging ports across Europe using a single app. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27234">
 February 2024
 </a>
 , the company partnered with AcBel Polytech to co-design hardware for ChargePoint&rsquo;s portfolio of EV-charging solutions.
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s most recent funding was in 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22909">
 October 2023
 </a>
 , when it raised USD 175 million in new equity funding from institutional investors through its at-the-market (ATM) offering facility. ChargePoint also raised USD 57 million in additional funds through the same facility in Q3 FY2024. The funds raised will support the company to achieve adjusted EBITDA profitability in Q4 FY2024. Prior to this in 
 <a href="https://www.chargepoint.com/about/news/chargepoint-secures-150-million-revolving-credit-facility-jp-morgan-hsbc-citi-and">
 July 2023
 </a>
 , ChargePoint secured a USD 150 million revolving credit facility.
 
 
 The company was listed on the NYSE through a SPAC merger in March 2021, making it the first pure-play EV-charging infrastructure company to go public. The deal generated USD 493 million at a valuation of USD 2.4 billion and the proceeds were to be used to support expansions in North America and Europe.&nbsp;
 
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Additive manufacturing makes objects by systematically adding material via a CAD program

Additive Manufacturing

Desktop Metal provides a range of additive manufacturing (AM) solutions including the sale of 3D printers with related software and materials as well as other related services targeting applications including rapid prototyping, pilot runs, mass production of tools, end-use parts, and aftermarket parts. The company mainly serves industries such as automotive, consumer goods, heavy industry, education, machine design, healthcare, and manufacturing tooling.Desktop Metal’s products include 1) Production System, a metal 3D printer for mass production; 2) X-Series, a binder jet 3D printer with patented Triple ACT (advanced compaction technology) and specialty materials including metals and ceramic; and 3) Shop System, a metal binder jetting system targeting metal 3D printing at machine shops, which also includes <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12724">Shop System+, and Shop System Pro packages </a>introduced in August 2022 and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14160?industryIds=71">Shop System Forust Edition, </a>a high-speed 3D printer for upcycled wood parts; 4) Studio System 2, an office-friendly metal 3D printer; 5) Fiber; a composite 3D printer using thermoplastic material such as nylon and 6) <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12867?industryIds=71">Figur G15, </a>a printer platform based on patent-pending Digital Sheet Forming (DSF) technology that fabricates sheet metal into parts with a high level of surface finish with little to no post-printing.Desktop Metal also offers <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12723">Live Sinter software </a>—a sinter simulation software that allows the design of sinter-ready, printable parts.. In March 2023, it launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16892?industryIds=71">Live Suite, </a>a premium software package to offer advanced design capabilities for metal, polymer, and ceramic parts. In September 2023, it launched <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22343">Live Monitor, </a>an Industry 4.0 solution for users to monitor and use real-time data to improve efficiency.Desktop Metal has grown through the acquisition of several companies including binder jetting technology company ExOne (November 2021), AM company AIDRO hydraulics &amp; 3D printing (September 2021), powder-based material AM company Aerosint (July 2021), provider of printed elastomers for AM Adaptive3D (May 2021), and polymer AM company EnvisionTEC (January 2021) to expand its material and printer offerings.In October 2023, the company sold Belgian additive manufacturing solutions provider <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23189">Aerosint SA </a>to motion technology company Schaeffler. Desktop Metal maintained its collaboration with Schaeffler in advancing binder jet 3D printing technology, while retaining the option for future commercial utilization.In July 2024, the entire company was <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31161">acquired by Nano Dimension</a> for ~USD 183 million in an all-cash transaction. Key customers and partnershipsDesktop Metal operates through an internal sales team and a network of 200+ distribution partners (value-added resellers) in over 65 countries. Its customers include small and medium enterprises as well as Fortune 500 companies. The company received a major <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14615?industryIds=71">contract </a>from the US Department of Veterans Affairs in November 2022. In October 2022, Desktop metal partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13694?industryIds=71">Siemens </a>to accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing at scale specifically targeting large-scale manufacturers. The company also entered into materials-related partnerships with Carbon in July 2023 to make Flexcera resins available to users of Carbon's 3D printers as well as with Henkel in August 2022 to validate Henkel's materials for DM printers. In March 2024, Desktop Metal expanded its partnership with Evonik, a chemical manufacturer, to integrate the latter’s INFINAM solution into its portfolio of polymers.

<div>
 
 Established as a spin-off from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Rapid Liquid Print&nbsp; (RLP) offers large-scale 3D printers that leverage a proprietary printing process cal &ldquo;rapid liquid print.&rdquo; The process involves injecting a liquid material mixture into a gel-filled container via a nozzle to create an object in 3D space. The company claims the printing process takes minutes and requires no additional support structures to be printed. Moreover, the printed objects can reportedly be used immediately without post-processing.&nbsp;
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 RLP partnered with BMW to print objects like silicone rubber for seat cushions. Additionally, the company serves customers across the medical devices, footwear, home goods, furniture, aviation, and automotive components industries.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In May 2024, RLP 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29262">
 raised USD 7 million
 </a>
 in a Series A funding round led by Germany&rsquo;s HZG Group to expand production and its team as well as develop more business areas.&nbsp;
 
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Carbon sells 3D printers along with related software and material for additive manufacturing to allow mass customization and on-demand inventory management. With a range of patented engineering and dental resins, Carbon targets automotive, consumer goods, dental (healthcare), and other industrial use cases. Carbon’s product portfolio includes several types of 3D printers named M1, M2, and M3 (an advanced end-to-end idea-to-production platform introduced in January 2022) as well as L1 and a parts washer. Carbon’s materials portfolio includes rigid, elastomeric, and dental materials. Carbon’s design software platform was launched targeting product designers globally in 2022. It offers regular software updates to its printers to continuously improve the processes and the outcome. With the acquisition of design software company <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12722">ParaMatters </a>in August 2022, Carbon expanded its software capabilities to include topology optimization capabilities, allowing users to speed up the design iteration process and create complex, high-performance part designs.The company also offers print analytics solutions, allowing real-time review of production data and part traceability from design to print stage. Adding to its proprietary pool of materials, in February 2022, Carbon introduced a flame retardant photopolymer resin that ensures durability and the long-term stability of printed parts.Carbon uses patented Digital Light Synthesis (DLS) technology that uses digital light projection and engineering-grade materials to develop parts with mechanical properties and a surface finish. DLS is driven by Carbon’s Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) technology, which uses ultraviolet (UV) light to cure liquid plastic resin into solid parts. Unlike traditional resin-based 3D printing (which reportedly makes weak parts), Carbon’s printed parts are baked in an oven, exposing the parts to a second heat-activated programmable procedure for improved strength.&nbsp;In November 2024, the company&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/36173">launched the EPU Pro platform</a>, a single-part, dual-cure elastomer resin. EPU Pro offers a range of stiffness options with durometers from 50A to 90A. It incorporates foaming agents for suede-like textures and features enhanced printability for complex geometries.Key customers and partnershipsCarbon had a presence in 17 countries as of January 2024, with plans to expand to other international markets in the future. The company also operates through a network of design firms and contract manufacturers that specialize in Carbon’s technologies. Carbon connects customers with these partners if they have a prototype that needs to be made.Carbon has entered several partnerships with other AM companies including Desktop Metal to bring its Flexcera resins to the Carbon Digital Manufacturing Platform (July 2023), Henkel to combine materials and printing expertise (October 2020), and Shapeways to offer access to Carbon’s 3D printing technology and materials (March 2019).Funding and financialsIn June 2019, Carbon raised USD 260 million co-led by Madrone Capital Partners and Baillie Gifford, bringing the company’s total funding to USD 683.4 million. Carbon planned to use this capital to expand R&amp;D, establish its first advanced development facility (ADF), and support international growth in Europe and Asia.&nbsp;

Generating, collecting, and analyzing enterprise data will never be the same.

Edge Computing

Kinexon is a German technology company specializing in connected and automated processes across industries.Kinexon offers an edge Internet of Things (IoT) platform and sensors to improve real-time data processing and intelligent communication between devices. The platform caters to a wide range of industries, including industrial IoT (IIoT), sports technology, and entertainment technology. Kinexon has applications for performance analytics, injury prevention, and enhanced fan engagement.KINEXON Mesh, an industrial asset tracking solution, was launched in July 2023, offering high accuracy, scalability, and energy efficiency for various industries.Key customers and partnershipsAs of April 2022, more than 400 teams and leagues worldwide rely on KINEXON Sports &amp; Media in the areas of performance tracking, analytics, and fan engagement. Kinexon enhances athletic performance analysis and augments sports broadcasts with innovative data applications, serving clients such as FIFA and around 80% of NBA teams​.Kinexon's technology has empowered notable companies like Toyota, BMW, ASMPT, Mercedes, Siemens Healthineers, Airbus, MTU Aero Engines, Bridgestone, Honda, Schaeffler, Premium Aerotec, Siemens, Cummins, and Continental to enhance productivity and sustainability and reduce costs.Kinexon has partnered with SAP to offer a comprehensive end-to-end solution that automates manual tasks, reduces errors, and improves visibility across the organization.Funding and financialsIn April 2022, Kinexon raised <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9968">USD 130 million in Series A funding</a> led by Thomas H. Lee Partners to accelerate international expansion and scale its operating system for connected and automated operations.

Graphcore provides a microprocessor for AI and ML applications (dubbed intelligence processing units [IPU]) that allows developers to build, train, and deploy AI/ML models in the cloud using its Bow Pod hardware systems, which are designed for production deployment in enterprise data centers, private, or public cloud. The Bow IP‍U‍ is also the world’s first AI processor to use Wafer-on-Wafer (WoW) 3D stacking technology, delivering 350 teraFLOPS of AI compute.In addition, the company’s Poplar graph framework software is designed with the IPU and integrates with ML frameworks to port existing models and run AI applications. Graphcore also provides a set of open-source code graph libraries to support ML models and an engine that executes models and streams data through models running on IPUs.Graphcore was <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31430">acquired by Softbank</a> in July 2024 to bolster its AI capabilities and tap into the growing demand for AI hardware. Graphcore will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank, retaining its name, headquarters in Bristol, and additional offices in the UK, Poland, and Taiwan.Key customers and partnershipsThe company serves customers in the finance, biotech, research, and consumer internet sectors. Notable customers include Citadel, University of Oxford, Imperial College London, Carmot Capital, and Stanford Medicine.It partnered with Spell, a company specializing in operationalizing AI, to develop IPU-based infrastructure that allows developers to run AI applications quickly and easily at scale. In addition, it collaborated with Aleph Alpha to enable bulk semantic embedding on the latter’s Luminous-Explore model supporting semantic search.Funding and financialsIn December 2020, the company raised USD 222 million in a Series E funding round led by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board at a valuation of USD 2.77 billion. The funds were used to accelerate future IPU silicon, systems, and software development and drive further global expansion.In 2022, the company reported revenue of GBP 2.7 million (USD 3.3 million), 46% lower than the previous year, and its net losses worsened 18.4% YoY to GBP 198.8 million (USD 245.9 million).

Earth-friendly biotech solutions for the textile, packaging and construction industries.

Bio-based Materials

Natural Fiber Welding (NFW), a company operating material brands Clarus and Mirum, develops a technology that can recycle plants and natural fibers to make textiles and other durable items. As of August 2022, Clarus, which would offer performance cotton textiles produced from molecularly bonded recycled fibers, remained at the demonstration stage and is seeking global partners. Mirum, a synthetic material created through the reformatting of natural, biodegradable polymers from hemp, waste cork, coconut, and vegetable oil had reached commercialization and could be used across handbags, clothing, footwear, and car interiors. Unlike other plant-based leather alternatives, the product does not use plastic resins, glues, or coatings, making it 100% free of petroleum-based plastic.In February 2021, NFW announced plans to set up a new plant in Illinois to expand the production of “Mirum”. The facility would span over 110,000 sq. ft. and was expected to expand its workforce of 80 (as of February 2021) by an additional 100 employees by the end of 2021.Key customers and partnershipsFor Mirum, NFW presented a pilot project together with India-based automotive supplier, Motherson, to develop bio-based door trims for the Porsche Taycan (February 2020). The company also received a USD 13 million investment from leading luxury lifestyle brand Ralph Lauren in August 2020. The investment forms a part of Ralph Lauren’s goal of sourcing 100% of its key materials from sustainable sources by 2025. The two companies unveiled the bio-based “RLX Clarus Polo” shirt for Ralph Lauren in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/7850">January 2022 </a>.NFW’s other partnerships include plant-based bag brand Bellroy to incorporate Mirum in Bellroy’s plant-based pouches in February 2021 and its wallet collection “Slim Sleeve” in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10232">May 2022 </a>, Medike-Landes, a global manufacturer of labels, trims, and accessories to launch a patch and trim collection, Richemont, a jewelry, fashion, and accessories brand, to use natural materials in Richemont’s products (April 2021), and Brave GentleMan, New-York-based vegan footwear brand, to launch the latter’s gender-neutral shoe collection made from Mirum ( <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12597">August 2022 </a>). In July 2022, launched “MiraTex,” luxury watch straps made from Mirum in partnership with luxury watchmaker IWC Schaffhausen (a brand within Richemont’s product portfolio). In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16508">February 2023 </a>, the company partnered with The Lenzing Group, an Austria-based supplier of specialty fibers, to offer TENCEL branded fibers as an alternative for NFW's patented plant-based technology, MIRUM.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16917">March 2023 </a>, the company, along with ArenaMend, an arena footing company that develops plastic-free and natural solutions, launched Noviun, a blend of natural fibers that is free of plastic and creates a riding surface suitable for all types of sand and environments. During the same period, NFW and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17447">Pangaia </a>, a British sustainable fashion brand, jointly launched Air-Gilet, a bio-based black vest, featuring Pangaia’s <a href="https://pangaia.com/pages/flowerdown">FLWRDWN </a>and thinner version of Mirum by NFW.Funding and financialsNFW received USD 2 million in investment from Allbirds, a sustainability-focused footwear and apparel brand in March 2021. Allbirds planned to incorporate NFW’s vegan leather in its footwear offerings by December 2021. The investment could also lead to Allbirds using NFW’s plant-based materials to manufacture other products, including socks, shoes, t-shirts, underwear, sweaters, jackets, and face masks.<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9745?industryIds=45">In April 2022 </a>, NFW raised USD 85 million in Series B funding led by Evolution VC partners. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/23138">October 2023</a>, the company secured an undisclosed investment from Asahi Kasei to develop leather alternatives for car interiors. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28183">March 2024</a>, the company disclosed that it has secured USD 24.8 million to scale up operations.

Based in Switzerland, Bcomp offers high-performance, lightweight natural fiber composite made using flax fibers derived from the indigenous flax plant. Bcomp offers two technology solutions “AmpliTex” and “PowerRibs” for the automotive, motorsports, marine, and aerospace industries. AmpliTex is a reinforcement fabric range and PowerRibs is a reinforcement grid, which is used together for weight and plastic reduction for a range of applications such as motorsport bodywork, automotive interiors, and space satellite panels. The two solutions are considered to be a sustainable alternative to carbon fiber composite materials and offer performance similar to that of carbon-fiber composite materials including high vibration damping, and weight reduction properties.&nbsp;&nbsp;Bcomp claims that its solutions offer 30% higher cost-efficiency compared to carbon fiber composites, weight reduction by 50%, and reduce CO2 emissions and plastic use by 85% and 70% respectively. In addition, the solutions are compatible with existing manufacturing processes and molds used for carbon fiber composites and eliminate the need for traditional consumable items in manufacturing such as breathers and bleeders, reducing costs. As of July 2024, the company operates a production facility in Fribourg, Switzerland (capacity level undisclosed).Key customers and partnershipsBcomp’s solutions have been used by leading automotive manufacturers such BMW, Volvo, and Porsche as well as in motorsport series such as Formula E and Formula 1. For instance, BMW has tested and validated ampliTex and powerRibs products in its motorsports cars for various exterior and interior bodywork since 2019 and is planning to integrate ampliTex and powerRibs into its road cars in the future.Funding and financials<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9613">In March 2022,</a> Bcomp raised CHF 32.4 million (USD 35 million) in Series B funding led by a group of strategic investors including BMW iVentures, Volvo Cars, and Porsche Ventures. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/28822">April 2024</a>, the company raised 40 million in Series C funding to expand production capacity and facilitate the company's expansion into new markets in Asia and North America.

Moving industry forward with next-gen advancements in energy storage and transmission

Alternative Energy

Our Next Energy (ONE) is a Michigan-based energy storage company that develops lithium iron phosphate (LFP) long-duration energy storage systems and EV batteries. These, unlike lithium-ion batteries, use little to no nickel or cobalt.In <a href="https://one.ai/one-expands-into-renewable-energy-storage-announcing-aries-tm-grid">February 2023</a>, the company reported that it will be developing and manufacturing its LFP utility-scale battery system known as “Aries Grid.” This storage system will be provided in 2, 3, and 6 MWh modular units, which allow for system customization. It uses LFP cathode chemistry, which is expected to be more durable and has double the lifetime energy throughput of nickel, cobalt, and manganese (NCM) chemistries that the majority of commercially available energy storage systems are composed of. These are to be manufactured at the company’s factory in Michigan.ONE is also developing three types of LFP batteries: Aries I, Aries II, and Gemini. <a href="https://one.ai/batteries/aries">Aries I</a> is a 79 kWh battery that provides a range of 150 miles on a single charge. The battery is capable of running 3,000 cycles with daily charging of up to 100% without degradation. It is currently being produced at ONE’s Michigan factory. According to the company, the scalable architecture of the battery allows it to fit into a range of applications including trucks, boats, homes, and grids. Both Aries II, and Gemini are used in EV applications.In <a href="https://one.ai/news/onecircle">October 2022</a>, ONE invested USD 1.6 billion to develop a new battery cell manufacturing plant known as “ONE Circle,” in Michigan. The facility was expected to operate at its full annual capacity of 20 GWh by the end of 2027. The company intended to manufacture enough cells to produce 240,000 Aries II and Gemini packs annually from 2023 onwards.Key customers and partnershipsIn <a href="https://one.ai/news/bmw">June 2022</a>, ONE partnered with BMW to incorporate Gemini into a BMW iX all-electric sports activity vehicle.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19408">June 2023</a>, ONE signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Nano One Materials, a company producing lithium-ion battery cathode materials. The two companies agreed to collaborate on the validation, qualification, and production of a North American supply of LFP cathode active materials (CAM). the CAM is to be produced at Nano One’s facilities in Canada, Québec and will be potentially used for the production of LFP cells in Our Next Energy’s Aries and Gemini batteries.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://one.ai/news/one-raises-300-million-in-series-b-equity-valuing-the-company-at-over-1-billion">February 2023</a>, ONE raised USD 300 million in a Series B funding round led by Fifth Wall and Franklin Templeton. This brings the company's total funding to USD 390 million, setting the company’s post-money valuation at USD 1.2 billion. The company was to use the funds to launch ONE Circle LFP cell factory, which was already receiving USD 200 million in grants from the state of Michigan.

Prometheus Fuels (Prometheus) is an air-to-fuel (A2F) startup that leverages direct air capture (DAC) to produce carbon-neutral fuel from ambient air and claims that its technology can produce gasoline at price points competitive with fossil fuels. Another key advantage of Prometheus’ solution is that its carbon-neutral fuel is readily compatible with existing gasoline vehicles and does not require any modifications.The company follows a next-generation electro chemical-based approach to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon-neutral fuel using renewable energy and carbon nanotubes. Industrial fans suck ambient air and blow it across a waterfall that absorbs CO2 and additional water. The electricity ‘charges’ and ‘energizes’ captured carbon with hydrogen molecules from water to create long-chain alcohols. Alcohols are then harvested using a special type of membrane called the Maxwell Core. Its pores are carbon nanotubes, which allows alcohol through while rejecting water. A final catalyst step combines the alcohols and recovers water. The company claims that they are the only ones in the world who possess the capability of economically separating alcohol from water. This step can be customized to produce gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel.In <a href="https://prometheusfuels.com/news/our-finished-commercial-scale-stack-design-unlocks-lowest-cost-fuel">October 2022</a>, Prometheus completed the design of the commercial-scale cell and stack Titan Fuel Forge.Key customers and partnershipsIn June 2019, Prometheus partnered with Boom Supersonic to supply carbon-neutral fuel for the flight test program of one of its demonstrator aircrafts scheduled for 2021. In July 2021, the company entered into a purchase agreement with American Airlines to supply 10 million gallons of carbon neutral jet fuel.&nbsp;

Reinforcing recycling, rerouting refuse, and reducing wasteflows

Waste Recovery & Management Tech

Natural Fiber Welding (NFW), a company operating material brands Clarus and Mirum, develops a technology that can recycle plants and natural fibers to make textiles and other durable items. Clarus, which will offer performance cotton textiles produced from molecularly bonded recycled fibers, remains at the demonstration stage and is seeking global partners.Funding and financials<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9745?industryIds=45">In April 2022</a>, NFW raised USD 85 million in Series B funding led by Evolution VC partners.

Cyclic Materials is an Ontario-based advanced metals recycling company focused on recovering rare earth elements (REE) used in high-performance magnets from end-of-life products. It re-circulates REEs back into the supply chains of automobiles, renewable wind energy, electronics, and more. Additionally, the company’s process recycles copper, aluminum, steel, cobalt, and nickel—metals that are also required for electrification and decarbonization. Cyclic Materials' closed-loop process reportedly uses less than 2% of the water and requires only 40% of the CO2 emissions of newly mined material.&nbsp;In February 2024, Cyclic Materials expanded to process <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27086">two new streams</a>, wind turbine generators and MRI machines to create a circular supply chain that feeds these critical metals back into the North American and European markets.Cyclic's first facility, operational since September 2023, processes approximately 2,200 pounds of devices per hour, or nearly 18 million pounds per year, using its Mag-Xtract magnet removal process. Additionally, its hydrometallurgical process, which underwent trial runs in 2022, has an initial capacity of 22,000 lbs per year. As of March 2024, the company was developing its first commercial demonstration plant for this technology in Kingston with a target launch date in Q2 2024. Plans are also underway to expand with multiple facilities in the US and Canada.Key customers and partnershipsIn 2022, Cyclic Materials partnered with Polestar for the development of REEs of recycled magnets for use in Polestar cars, as well as explore ways to efficiently recycle existing magnets. ‍In February 2023, the company partnered with<a href="https://www.solvay.com/en/"> </a>Solvay for the production and supply of recycled mixed rare earth oxides (rMREO). The company also partnered with Arnold Magnetic Technologies, a leading magnet manufacturer, in April 2023, to establish a rare earth recycling program that would recycle all elements from Arnold's supply feed. In March 2024, the company partnered with <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27689">Vacuumschmelze</a>, a developer of magnetic materials and solutions, to recycle by-products containing critical materials used in high-performance permanent magnets.Funding and financialsIn April 2023, Cyclic Materials raised USD 27 million in an <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18019">oversubscribed Series A financing</a> round led by Energy Impact Partners (EIP) and BMW i Ventures (BiV) to scale up its technologies for future growth in North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as meet the rising demand for REEs. The company was also among the 17 companies selected to receive USD 3.6 million in funding in February 2023 from the Sustainable Development Technology Council (SDTC) of Canada to support the scaling of their proprietary technology.

Information to create a more efficient, cleaner and safer way to travel in the city of the future

Smart Mobility Information

<div>
 
 Nauto provides an AI-powered driver and fleet safety platform. The platform applies computer vision and proprietary algorithms to its AI-enabled dual-facing dash camera. This monitors driver behavior and vehicle surroundings to predict high-risk events and send real-time in-vehicle alerts (IVA) to prevent pedestrian collisions, speeding and intersection violations, and distracted driving. In November 2019, the firm introduced self-coaching tools for drivers to improve distracted driving and manager-led coaching modules for commercial fleet managers. The firm claimed its tools had helped reduce distraction events by more than 35% on average. 
 
 The firm claimed to be the only AI-enabled platform that impacted driver behavior in real-time, which it claimed has led to the avoidance of 70,000+ collisions, resulting in a ~USD 300 million savings. 
 
 
 In November 2021, Nauto introduced a driver drowsiness detector system that monitors real-time multiple drowsiness indicators such as yawning, blink rate, drooping shoulders, etc. which will trigger in-vehicle alert (IVA) systems when a certain threshold is reached. 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 As of February 2022, Nauto&rsquo;s platform was used by 800+ brands including Allegiant, Flexibus, Sprint, Edge, Phillips. 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19521">
 In June 2023,
 </a>
 Nauto secured a strategic investment from Stellantis Ventures, the venture capital arm of automaker Stellantis, to extend its safety benefits to more light commercial vehicles and, eventually, to consumer vehicles. The firm has also attracted investor interest from automakers like General Motor Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures, and BMW iVentures. It is believed that the firm's data can be leveraged for the development of self-driving cars in the future.
 
</div>

JustPark is a UK-based parking discovery and payment platform accessible via both a website and mobile app. It offers comprehensive parking inventory management services tailored to businesses looking to maximize revenue from underutilized parking spaces. These services include setting up listings, attracting customers and providing real-time occupancy and revenue data. In addition to facilitating bookings, JustPark's platform offers convenient options such as pre-booking and on-the-go bookings via mobile apps. With an easy-to-use interface, the app allows drivers to reserve and pay for parking on an instant or long-term basis. JustPark claims potential savings of up to 30% to 43% on parking fees.JustPark also has solutions for owners of driveways and other parking spaces as well as owners of electronic vehicle (EV) chargers to rent them out via the platform. In April 2021, JustPark partnered with Zap-Map, an EV mapping service for drivers to provide access to more than 800 EV charging points from June 2021 onwards. In March 2022, the firm launched JustCharge, a community-based EV charging service which enables EV owners to rent out their private charges to other EV drivers via an app. Alongside this, the firm introduced&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9507">JustCharge Grant</a>: an EV rewards programme to encourage EV adoption and thus grow its network of charging points.&nbsp;The firm also offers cashless parking payment options for businesses and local authorities via its platform. The platform accepts all major debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay and has been used by Hilton Hotels &amp; Resorts, JLL, and Cornwall Council.&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22486">In October 2023</a>, JustPark introduced ‘Best Price Guarantee’ where if a JustPark user finds the same parking space for a lower price elsewhere within 24 hours of booking, JustPark will match the lower price and provide an additional 20% refund, credited to the user’s JustPark Wallet.In March 2024,&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27819">the company merged with ParkHub,</a> a North American parking inventory management solution provider, to offer a full-service parking software and payment solution for customers across North America and the UK.&nbsp;&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsAs of May 2022, JustPark serves more than Six million drivers who can choose from more than 45,000 parking spaces.&nbsp;In 2019, JustPark became the sole supplier of local parking in Northern Ireland. In May 2022, JustPark&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/10602">partnered with Visa</a> to enable contactless payment for EV charging services to encourage EV adoption. In July 2023, the firm&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20066">partnered with Sprive,&nbsp;</a>a free app that helps homeowners pay off their mortgages faster by allowing homeowners to rent out empty driveways and thereby generate extra income and reduce interest rate pressure. In August 2023, the company<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21297">&nbsp;partnered with Parkopedia,</a> a UK-based provider of web- and mobile-based parking discovery, booking, and payment solutions, to provide motorists across the UK an easier way to find, book, and pay for parking.&nbsp;

Riding together toward a sustainable future

Shared Mobility

Ridecell is a global fleet automation and mobility solutions provider. The company offers a fleet automation and mobility platform that modernizes and monetizes fleets by combining data insights with digital vehicle control, transforming manual processes into automated workflows. Ridecell's platform enables seamless user experiences, providing customers with flexibility in services, daily operations, and structural needs. It offers decentralized and convenient booking systems, allowing employees to use vehicles without relying on fleet managers. The platform also automates fleet operations, providing insights to ensure optimal fleet condition and tools for achieving sustainability and compliance goals.
In January 2022, Ridecell partnered with Arval, a European leader in full-service leasing and new mobility solutions, to accelerate the development of end-to-end mobility solutions. Through this partnership, Ridecell's platform powers Arval's car-sharing platform, offering coverage across Europe with plans to expand globally, growing the car-sharing fleet by 50% annually.

Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace that allows car owners to rent out their personal vehicles to others. Founded in 2010, the company has expanded rapidly, operating in over 9,500 cities across the US, Canada, the UK, France, and Australia as of June 2022. Turo's platform offers a vast selection of vehicles, with over 250,000 active vehicles listed by 125,000 active hosts as of June 30, 2022.
The service provides an alternative to traditional car rental companies, allowing users to rent unique cars from local hosts at affordable rates. Turo's business model eliminates the costs associated with owning and maintaining large fleets, enabling hosts to earn extra income by sharing their underutilized personal vehicles. Guests can book any car they desire, from compact sedans to luxury sports cars, through Turo's user-friendly website or mobile app.
Turo's platform utilizes a dynamic pricing system, where hosts set their rental rates based on market demand. The company generates revenue by taking a commission from each rental transaction, typically ranging from 10% to 40% of the total rental fee, depending on the protection plan selected by the host. In addition to rental fees, guests may incur additional charges such as trip fees, young driver fees, and optional extras like unlimited mileage or prepaid refueling.
In April 2022, Turo confidentially filed for an initial public offering (IPO), indicating its intention to become a publicly-traded company. The company's revenue surged 207% year-over-year to USD 330.5 million in the first nine months of 2021, driven by an increase in the number of days booked and higher gross booking value per day. However, Turo reported a net loss of USD 129.3 million during the same period.

AI, robotics, and IoT to streamline the flow of goods and information

Logistics Tech

<div>
 
 Plus One Robotics develops a parcel-handling robotics platform powered by computer vision, AI, and supervised autonomy. Plus One Robotics&rsquo; product offering includes,
 
 
 1. 
 &ldquo;PickOne,''
 an AI-powered vision software developed to deliver precise hand-eye coordination for logistics robots. PickOne enables the automation of tasks such as induction, singulation, depalletizing, and packing in warehouse and distribution environments
 
 
 2. 
 &ldquo;Yonder,&rdquo;
 a &ldquo;Human-in-the-Loop&rdquo; remote supervisor software suite that enables employees to supervise the robotic fleet even from a remote setting, enhancing the capability of exception handling
 
 
 3. 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27446">
 &ldquo;
 Individual Cup Control Gripper&rdquo; (ICC Gripper),
 </a>
 pitched as an induction solution and uses AI-powered software to pick and separate parcels using the optimal arrangement of suction cups
 
 
 4. 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/29177">
 &ldquo;InductOne,&rdquo;
 </a>
 an automated dual-arm robotic solution for optimizing the handling and induction of parcels in high-volume distribution centers and warehouses
 
 
 
 
 The company offers its products on a subscription-based robotics-as-a-service (RaaS) business model.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Plus One's customers are largely in the parcel post, logistics, and general merchandise industries, and include companies such as FedEx and MSC Industrial.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Plus One has a network of technology partners that includes system integrators as well as developers of fulfillment solutions and robotic automation solutions such as AWL, Applied Manufacturing Technologies, BOWE Intralogistics, BWDG, Calvary Robotics, Dero Group, EuroSort, Fameccanica, Fanuc, JR Automation, Locus Robots, MDCI Automation, Mission, Motion Control Robotics, NPSG Global, PSA Systems, Pearson Packaging Systems, Robex, Shape Technologies Group, Thompkins Robots, Yasakawa, and Zebra Technologies.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In March 2023, Plus One raised USD 50 million in a Series C funding round, led by Scale Venture Partners, to invest in enhancing the capacity, scaling deployment, and increasing the company&rsquo;s sales and marketing efforts.
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Verusen provides an AI-powered platform for centralizing procurement and stocking strategies and streamlining request for quote (RFQ) data. Verusen&rsquo;s platform&rsquo;s features include scenario modeling to centralize the procurement and stocking strategies, sharing excess materials between facilities, and centralizing inventory stores and hubs. The platform is system agnostic and enables maintaining a single view of material data across different systems. The company offers its product on a subscription-based SaaS business model.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As of January 2022, Verusen served customers in 25 countries globally. As of April 2024, the company had helped customers manage USD 3 billion of inventory and 3 million separate stock-keeping units (SKUs).
 
 
 
 
 In November 2022, Silver Birch Finance, a working capital advisory and execution firm entered a partnership with Verusen to offer the company&rsquo;s technology to Silver Birch&rsquo;s corporate clients. Several of the company&rsquo;s global partnerships include SAP, NTT Data, Accenture, ATDC Georgia Tech, and AWS.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In January 2022, Verusen raised USD 25 million in a Series B round led by Scale Venture Partners to expand its global presence and to further improve its platform by broadening the focus to include the indirect MRO (maintenance, repair, and operations) and direct materials spaces.
 
</div>

Using data and automation to achieve 24/7 production.

Smart Factory

Bright Machines combines robotics, machine learning, and computer vision to provide automation applications for the electronics manufacturing industry. Its flagship product is the “Bright Machines Microfactory,” a pre-integrated, programmable assembly line that can be deployed in existing and new production facilities. The Microfactory runs on the company's proprietary “Brightware” cloud-based software platform, offering a scalable solution that enables manufacturers to enhance supply chain resilience and adapt production capacity according to market demand. This software-defined manufacturing allows factories to change the products that they manufacture if needed. The company offers its service on a subscription-based microfactory-as-a-service (MaaS) business model.The company reportedly generated USD 83 million in revenue in 2021. In May 2021, Bright Machines reported that its revenue doubled each year since its inception (2018) and forecasts a 5-year CAGR (2020-2025) of over 84%.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsBright Machines served over 40 manufacturing companies as of October 2022.The company collaborated with Microsoft Azure in May 2024 to leverage the latter’s infrastructure to deliver a full-stack environment for all stages of the manufacturing lifecycle.The company also has distribution/sales partnerships with Anstar Corporation (April 2021), SMT Capital (April 2021), MaRC Technologies (May 2021), PAC Global (May 2021), Restronics (June 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/3618">BROCK Electronics</a> (June 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4740">Murray Percival</a> (July 2021), <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/4412">Competitive Edge Manufacturing Equipment</a> (CEME; July 2021).Key competitors: None comparable (Bright Machines is the only company in the smart factory industry that offers microfactories-as-a-service, which combines intelligent software with adaptive hardware to automate manufacturing processes.)

The innovative cost dynamics of serverless computing allow more customers onto the cloud without breaking the bank.

Serverless Computing

Vendia offers a serverless data-sharing platform designed to facilitate real-time data sharing and code collaboration across multiple clouds and organizations.The platform combines serverless and blockchain technologies to enable scalability and instant, secure data sharing across multiple clouds, companies and data stacks. The company was founded by the creator of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Lambda technology, Tim Wagner, and former head of business development at Amazon Managed Blockchain, Shruthi Rao.&nbsp;The 'Vendia Share' platform for developers helps enterprises share code and data across companies, clouds, accounts, regions, and technology stacks.Key customers and partnershipsThe company caters to industries such as financial services, manufacturing, logistics, travel, and hospitality. Its key customers include BMW, Milaha, Nestlé Purina, Airlines Reporting Corporation, Fannie Mae, Common Securitization Solutions, Atos, Allianz, Delta, Wheels Up, and Aeromexico.

Modern tools to train and motivate staff, and bridge emerging skill gaps.

EdTech: Corporate Learning

<div>
 
 Strivr has developed a virtual reality (VR) product for workplace training that simulates real-world and on-the-job situations. Strivr was incubated at Stanford University when co-founder and CEO Derek Belch developed a VR application in 2014 to help football players train off the field. The company's focus later shifted to workplace training. Its products combine interactive 360-degree videos with computer-generated scenarios in which trainees must actively participate. Strivr exclusively uses Oculus headsets for its VR experiences. As of March 2020, Strivr’s 22,000 VR headsets in operation had registered 1.6 million sessions.
 
 
 In 2017, Strivr partnered with Walmart to bring VR instruction 200 “Walmart Academy” instruction centers and all Walmart stores. In March 2021, Bank of America announced that it was rolling out Strivr’s VR product to thousands of employees across its 4,000 banks after a pilot program with about 400 employees. The bank plans to incorporate VR into its corporate learning program, “The Academy,” and apply the technology across a range of training areas such as notary services, fraud detection, and practicing empathy with customers.
 
 
 In April 2022, Strivr raised 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9834">
 USD 35 million in a funding round
 </a>
 led by Georgian Partners and will use the funds for platform development. The company also announced that it is part of Accenture Ventures’ Project Spotlight, a program focused on investing in developers of disruptive technologies. Additionally, the company is part of the Workday Software Partner Program, with plans to integrate its technology with Workday Content Cloud. 
 
</div>

Using online platforms, autonomy, electric and fuel-cell tech solutions to shape the future of trucking.

Truck Industry Tech

Kodiak Robotics develops Level-4 autonomous trucks (i.e., fully autonomous vehicles but limited to specific locations and/or conditions) powered by its autonomous technology “Kodiak Driver,” for long-haul transportation. Its approach to system engineering is unique and involves a ground-up approach without retrofitting systems from other autonomous vehicles. Its technology consists of 1) “SensorPods,” a sensor suite that uses cameras, LiDAR, and radars to perceive the environment; 2) “Kodiak Maps,” a flexible routing layer that offers information for autonomous driving; and 3) “Guardian,” its fault management system that runs safety and performance checks to ensure safe movements.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25348">January 2024</a>, the company unveiled its sixth-generation driverless semi-truck designed for scaled deployment on public roads. The company plans to make the technology available for users in two ways: 1) shippers can either request to integrate the sensor pods into their fleets and pay a subscription fee for Kodiak Driver or 2) partner with Kodiak Robotics to ship goods using Kodiak’s fleet of autonomous trucks for a subscription fee. The company launched commercial operations in 2019 and launched the Partner Deployment Program (PDP) to structure work with commercial partners in 2022. It operates in cities in states including Texas, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21110">Georgia,</a> Oklahoma, and Florida. The company also planned to expand operations <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/3402">to Asia-Pacific</a>, including South Korea and China (via a partnership with South Korean conglomerate SK Group; announced in May 2021).In terms of driverless operations, Kodiak Robotics had a fleet of 40 autonomous trucks in testing, with a driver following the route as of September 2023. The company intended to launch fully driverless tests in 2024 and commercial driverless operations by 2025.Key customers and partnershipsKodiak Robotics’ customers include <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8991">Ceva Logistics,</a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9650">U.S. Xpress,</a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/11864">10 Roads Express,</a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/22474">Maersk,</a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13839">IKEA,</a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27196">Martin Brower,</a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13398">Werner Enterprises,</a> <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19644">Loadsmith,</a> Tyson Foods, C.R. England, <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/30953">Artur Express</a> and <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/31883">Atlas Energy Solutions</a>.The company also has partnerships to establish truckports and other related services to facilitate its operations. Such partnerships include 1) Wabash, a producer of semi-trailers, to use its trailers-as-a-service (TaaS) offering for autonomous fleet (<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33939">September 2024</a>); 2) logistics and transportation firm Ryder Systems to establish a truckport in Houston, Texas <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/25804">(January 2024);</a> 3) weigh station bypass solutions provider Drivewyze to pilot a motor vehicle inspection program for autonomous trucks in Texas <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20326">(July 2023);</a> 4) Forward Air Corporation, an asset-light provider of transportation services, to operate 24/7 trucking services between routes in Dallas (Texas) and Atlanta (Georgia; March 2023); and 5) travel center operator Pilot Company to co-develop truck service stations across North America <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/12559">(August 2022).</a>Its other product partners include semiconductor design company Ambarella to integrate Ambarella’s perception system-on-chip (SoC) (January 2023) and AI domain control SoC (January 2024) into Kodiak’s self-driving trucks.

AI-based solutions for evolving digital threats

Next-gen Cybersecurity

<div>
 
 Claroty is an industrial cybersecurity company that provides security across operation technology (OT), Internet of Things (IoT), and industrial IoT (IIoT) corporate assets. The platform provides visibility, threat detection, risk and vulnerability management, and secure remote access for corporate digital infrastructure. The company also operates across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America with deployments across the world in industries such as energy, consumer products, critical manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and utilities. Claroty is backed by top industrial automation vendors such as Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, and Siemens who are both customers and investors.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Since 2020, Claroty has experienced 110% year-over-year (YoY) growth in new customers and maintained 100% customer retention. The company expects 133% YoY growth in annual recurring revenue between H1 2020 and H1 2021. The company also expanded its partner coverage by 50% over 2020 with the additions of companies such as Deloitte, KPMG, PwC, CrowdStrike, Atos, and Yokogawa.
 
 
 In June 2023, Claroty announced an integration with Siemens Healthineers, incorporating the firm&rsquo;s Medigate platform into Healthineers&rsquo; ActSafe healthcare cybersecurity solution to offer healthcare providers deeper visibility into their networks, along with vulnerability and management insights. 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Claroty raised USD 400 million in Series E funding, in a round co-led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Schneider Electric, and Bessemer Venture Partners that reportedly valued the company at nearly USD 2 billion. Claroty had earmarked most of the funding for the acquisition of healthcare-focused IoT security startup, Medigate. The new funds were also to be used to support Claroty&rsquo;s product development and international expansion. Medigate provides IoT security solutions, such as anomaly detection, to over 1,000 healthcare facilities. Claroty expects this acquisition to help expand its footprint beyond the industrial and manufacturing spaces. 
 
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Clear the air on carbon capture, reuse, and storage

Carbon Capture, Utilization & Storage (CCUS)

Prometheus follows a next-gen electro-chemical-based approach to convert CO2 into carbon-neutral fuel using renewable energy and carbon nanotubes. Industrial fans suck ambient air and blow it across a waterfall that absorbs CO2 and additional water. The electricity “charges” and “energizes” captured carbon with hydrogen molecules from water to create long-chain alcohols. Alcohols are then harvested using a special type of membrane called the Maxwell Core. Its pores are carbon nanotubes, which allow alcohol through while rejecting water. A final catalyst step combines the alcohols and recovers water. The company claims that it is the only one in the world that can separate alcohol from water economically. This step can be customized to produce gasoline, diesel, or jet fuel.In <a href="https://prometheusfuels.com/news/our-finished-commercial-scale-stack-design-unlocks-lowest-cost-fuel">October 2022</a>, Prometheus completed the design of the commercial-scale cell and stack Titan Fuel Forge.Key customers and partnershipsIn June 2019, Prometheus partnered with Boom Supersonic (a company building the world’s fastest supersonic airliner) to supply carbon-neutral fuel for the flight test program of one of its demonstrator aircraft scheduled for 2021. In July 2021, the company entered into a purchase agreement with American Airlines to supply 10 million gallons of carbon-neutral jet fuel.&nbsp;

Technologies bringing about a new reality

Extended Reality

Strivr develops virtual training solutions by combining VR, data science, and spatial design. It offers professional services in strategy and planning, content production, usage and engagement analytics, and on-site hardware configuration and management for enterprise workforce training.The platform holds a patent that covers a predictive algorithm, which uses head, hand, and eye movements, in addition to physiological data, allowing it to infer how an employee’s performance in VR would translate to real life.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18767">May 2023</a>, Strivr announced the launch of generative AI tools for the creation of VR training content. Key use cases include health and safety training, customer service coaching, and soft skills enhancement.Key customers and partnershipsIn December 2023, the company noted that it held ~2 million enterprise VR training sessions across its client base. The company caters to enterprise customers including Verizon, BMW, Fidelity, Walmart, and Bank of America.In May 2023, Strivr partnered with Reulay and Helium to expand its VR mental health content library.Funding and financialsStrivr announced an extended Series B funding round in which it raised USD 35 million led by Georgian in April 2022. The round also included strategic investments from Workday and Accenture, while Bank of America and Gaingels also participated. The funds were earmarked for the development of upskilling and reskilling solutions for enterprise workforces.

Data Infrastructure & Analytics

Yellowbrick Data provides a SQL data warehouse platform designed for large-scale data analytics. The platform enables enterprises to run complex queries on live data at petabyte scale through a cloud-native architecture built on Kubernetes. The data warehouse separates compute and storage, with all data stored in cloud object storage like AWS S3, while compute resources are elastically scaled through Kubernetes clusters. Through its architecture, Yellowbrick delivers high-performance query processing by optimizing low-level system components including network interfaces, storage drivers, and memory management. The platform allows customers to deploy the data warehouse in their own cloud accounts across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, giving them full control over their data infrastructure. For data security and sovereignty requirements, Yellowbrick also enables on-premises deployment through what it calls a Private Data Cloud model. The platform is compatible with PostgreSQL and features workload management capabilities that allow truly ad-hoc analytics environments while maintaining fair resource allocation for interactive users. As of March 2024, Yellowbrick has integrated Intel's Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) technology, which enables zero-copy networking and can improve query performance by up to 70% through optimized data exchange between worker nodes.

Travel Tech

Turo (formley RelayRides) is a car-sharing marketplace that allows owners to lease their cars through its platform. Hosts can list their vehicles, manage availability, and adjust prices to respond to market demands. Renters have the ability to search for vehicles based on location, type, price, intended use, and other criteria to find the ideal car for their needs. The platform features integrated messaging, payments, and fraud detection, as well as the “Turo Risk Score” introduced in April 2020 to implement real-time, risk-based trip fees. Renters can access a wide range of vehicles including trucks, vans, minivans, and SUVs, in over 9,500 (June 2022) cities across the US, Canada, and the UK.Turo generates revenue through commissions charged based on the total trip price, varying from 2.5-100%, a flat fee of USD 15 and value-added services fees for additional services, such as protection. Turo had more than 125,000 active hosts and 250,000 active vehicles (as of June 2022) and 1.3 million active guests (as of September 2021).Turo also announced expansions into France—which coincided with the acquisition of its competitor, OuiCar, with the hopes of assimilating OuiCar under the Turo umbrella in the future—and Australia (including Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, and Brisbane) in 2022. Turo was backed by Daimler (now known as Mercedes-Benz Group) in its USD 90 million Series D funding round in 2017. At the same time, it took over Daimler’s car-sharing business, Croove, which initially launched in Germany in 2016, but was shut down in 2020.Key customers and partnershipsIn&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/35127">October 2024</a>, Turo partnered with Crashbay to improve the auto claims repair process for Turo hosts. Previously,&nbsp;In&nbsp;<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33358">August 2024</a>, Turo entered into a multi-year partnership with Uber to integrate Turo's vehicle selection into the Uber app.In May 2022, Turo joined forces with Capital One, allowing credit card holders to receive enhanced rewards when making bookings through Turo. Other partners include Delta Airlines, vehicle and driving data business IMS, Auto Rental ETC, Michelin Guide, and the Quebec Electric Vehicle Association.&nbsp;

Deriving insights from uncommon data streams

Alternative Data

Skylo is a technology company that provides global connectivity solutions. It has developed a proprietary method to efficiently transmit data over geostationary satellites, allowing machines, sensors, and devices to stay connected even in remote areas. Skylo's core offering is the Skylo Hub, a compact satellite terminal that connects nearby sensors and devices to the Skylo Network. The Hub includes geolocation and acceleration sensors and operates as a wireless hotspot, transmitting two-way data via the company's satellite network.
Skylo's technology enables affordable connectivity plans starting at USD one per month. It has partnered with existing satellite providers, leveraging their existing capacity to focus on servicing customers with a simple, cohesive network. The company's platform allows seamless connectivity for remote sensors, mobile messaging, and trackers, ensuring coverage in areas without terrestrial connectivity.
In early 2020, Skylo emerged from stealth mode with USD 116 million in funding, including a USD 103 million Series B round led by SoftBank. As of March 2024, the company has raised a total of USD 153 million in equity funding, including a USD 37 million round in February 2024 led by Intel Capital and Innovation Endeavors. Skylo has also formed partnerships with chipset manufacturers like Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek, and Sony, enabling device makers to integrate its connectivity solution.
In November 2023, Skylo announced a global infrastructure agreement with Viasat, a satellite communications leader, to launch the world's first global direct-to-device (D2D) network. This partnership allows mobile network operators, device makers, and chipset manufacturers to take 3GPP Release 17 compliant products to market within Viasat's global network coverage.
Key customers and partnerships
Skylo has also collaborated with satellite operator Inmarsat, which supplies satellite connectivity to power Skylo's Narrow-Band (NB) internet of Things (IoT) network. This partnership allows Skylo to rapidly execute a global rollout, leveraging Inmarsat's extensive coverage and landing rights.
In June 2021, Skylo announced a partnership with Indian Mobile Network Operator (MNO) BSNL to offer its services in India. One of Skylo's solutions is a fleet management application used by wooden fishing boats in the Indian Ocean, enabling them to report fish catch populations, complete ecommerce transactions, and report emergencies remotely.
As of March 2024, Skylo has launched its initial service across the US, Canada, and Europe in partnership with chipmakers Qualcomm, Samsung, MediaTek, and Sony, as well as device OEMs and mobile carriers such as Deutsche Telekom.

Educational technology plays a pivotal role in driving and enabling the revolution in post-secondary learning

Higher EdTech

Yellowbrick is a company focused on providing educational experiences in creative industries. Founded with the mission to inspire the next generation of talent, Yellowbrick collaborates with leading universities, brands, and industry experts to create learning programs in fields such as fashion, sports, beauty, music, and media. The company offers courses in areas including film, animation, visual effects (VFX), and music, designed to develop essential skills for careers in the entertainment and creative industries. Yellowbrick's educational model combines accessible online programs with real-world insights from top-ranked creative universities and industry professionals. The company utilizes technology to offer personalized learning experiences and professional mentor-led programs such as Animation Mentor. In April 2024, Yellowbrick was named the top EdTech company in North America by TIME and Statista, ranking sixth globally among 250 recognized companies. The evaluation was based on criteria of innovation, impact, and leadership in the education sector.
Key customers and partnerships
Yellowbrick has established partnerships with several prominent institutions and brands to develop its educational content. These include NYU Tisch, Parsons, Billboard, and Rolling Stone. The company collaborates with leading professionals from Hollywood studios and major creative companies to ensure real-world relevance and expert guidance in its courses. Yellowbrick has also worked with global Systems Integrators and partners such as Accenture, KPMG, and PwC on projects to help joint customers comply with standards like IFRS. Yellowbrick reported having tens of thousands of users worldwide, with customers and users in various countries including the US, Pakistan, Macau, the UK, Iceland, India, Thailand, Mexico, mainland China, Korea, and Japan. The company has been expanding its presence in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, working with regional partners like Apptech in Latin America, NI+C in Japan, Zelesia in Korea, HKBN JOS in Macau, and Bairui in China.

Augmenting the mining value chain with technology and automation

Mining Tech

Lilac Solutions is a mining technology company based in Oakland, California that has developed an innovative lithium extraction process. Founded in 2016, Lilac aims to revolutionize lithium production to meet growing demand for electric vehicle batteries while minimizing environmental impacts. The company's proprietary ion exchange technology uses specially-designed beads to selectively absorb lithium from brine resources, eliminating the need for large evaporation ponds used in traditional extraction methods. Lilac claims its process is significantly faster, cheaper, and more scalable than existing technology, with the ability to recover 70-98% of available lithium depending on brine quality. The system reportedly uses less land and water while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% compared to current brine extraction methods.
Lilac has conducted extensive testing on over 30 lithium brine resources worldwide. As of 2024, the company has successfully demonstrated its technology at the 1,000 L/hr scale and plans commercial units with 10,000 L/hr capacity. Lilac is currently developing projects in Argentina and the US. In Argentina, Lilac has a demonstration facility at Lake Resources' brine operation. In the US, the company is pursuing a lithium extraction project on Utah's Great Salt Lake through its subsidiary Waterleaf Resources. Lilac aims to produce 3,000 metric tons of lithium chemicals annually from the Great Salt Lake site by 2026, with plans to eventually scale up to 25,000 tons per year.

Building future-ready applications in the cloud

Cloud-native Tech

Yellowbrick Data is a cloud-native data warehouse that provides scalable Structured Query Language (SQL) analytics for enterprises and applications.Yellowbrick has an elastic architecture with separate SQL-driven storage and compute and runs in customers’ cloud accounts as well as on-premises while also supporting public clouds like Azure, AWS, and GCP. Yellowbrick’s other features include executing complex workloads, support for disaster recovery, support agreements with major ETL Extract, Transform, Load (ETL), BI (Business Intelligence), machine learning, data mining, and change data capture (CDC), and open-source integrations.Yellowbrick can run across multiple enterprise-grade platforms and clouds, including customers’ cloud-native applications.Yellowbrick offers its services on subscription and on-demand bases.Key customers and partnershipsYellowbrick’s customer base operates in industries such as financial services, automotive, insurance, retail, hospitality, and telecommunications. Some notable customers are BMW Group Financial Services, Catalina, ACI Worldwide, TEOCO, Melco, Symphony Retail, LexisNexis, Clarity, Zurich, Nielsen, Bread Financial, and Cardlytics.IBM, Intel, Oracle, Qlik, SAS, Tableau, Talend, Tonic, Domo, and CloverDX are some of Yellowbrick’s technology partners while their solutions partners include Emtec, Next Pathway, Virtusa, G2O, Saxon, Systech and Saarthee.

Empowering the modern soldier with cutting-edge technology

Military Tech

Kodiak Robotics, founded in 2018 by Don Burnette, is a self-driving trucking company based in Mountain View, California. The company develops autonomous technology for long-haul trucks, with a focus on improving safety and efficiency in the freight industry. Kodiak's core product is the Kodiak Driver, an autonomous driving system that includes sensors, safety computers, and mapping functions. The system is designed to be vehicle and powertrain-agnostic, allowing for integration into various truck platforms.
Kodiak's autonomous trucks operate primarily on highway portions of routes, with human drivers handling on and off-highway driving and final mile delivery. As of 2023, Kodiak served customers along six routes in Texas, Oklahoma, and the Southeast, operating autonomously on the highway portions. The company's proprietary sparse mapping approach enables rapid expansion into new lanes.
In January 2024, Kodiak unveiled its sixth-generation autonomous truck at CES, featuring redundant systems for critical components such as braking, steering, and power. This truck is designed for fully driverless operations, which Kodiak plans to initiate between Dallas and Houston in 2024. The company aims to begin commercial deployment of its driverless technology to partner carriers in 2025.
Kodiak has also expanded beyond commercial trucking applications. In October 2022, the company was awarded a USD 49.9 million contract by the US Department of Defense to develop autonomous vehicle technology for the Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle program. This project focuses on creating autonomous capabilities for vehicles designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, and other high-risk missions.
Key customers and partnerships
Kodiak Robotics has established partnerships with several major companies in the logistics and retail sectors. In March 2023, Kodiak announced a dedicated agreement with Forward Air Corporation to operate autonomous freight service 24 hours per day, six days a week between Dallas and Atlanta. The company has also partnered with IKEA, Werner Enterprises, US Xpress, 10 Roads Express, and CEVA Logistics for various autonomous trucking projects.
In June 2023, Loadsmith, a third-party logistics platform, placed an order for 800 trucks equipped with Kodiak's self-driving technology. This partnership aims to create the Loadsmith Freight Network, the first freight transportation company built specifically for self-driving trucks, with deliveries expected to begin in the second half of 2025.
Kodiak has also formed a strategic partnership with Pilot Company, North America's largest operator of highway travel centers. The companies are collaborating to develop services for self-driving trucks at Pilot and Flying J travel centers, with the first autonomous truckport being built near Atlanta, Georgia.

InsurTech: Infrastructure

<div>
 
 Zendrive provides telematics solutions for insurers, fleet operators, and other mobile app developers. For insurers, Zendrive provides the infrastructure which uses artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive models on data collected from smartphone sensors to facilitate usage-based insurance. Examples of data collected include instances of phone usage, speeding behavior, braking patterns, etc. Insurers can use the company&rsquo;s technology in the areas of underwriting, claims management, and fraud detection. The platform has features to detect crashes, track drivers, and assign safety scores for drivers. As of November 2020, Zendrive held behavior data for more than 180 billion miles. In addition to the US, the company also has an office in India.
 
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s last funding round was in August 2019 when it raised USD 37 million in Series B funding led by XL Innovate, which was to be used for product development and expansion of the team.
 
</div>

AMPECO enables large-scale EV charging providers to launch and scale their business operations under their own brand. The company offers a white-label and hardware-agnostic EV charging management platform to cover all business cases - public, private, and home charging. Advanced energy management, flexible billing and subscription management, automatic maintenance algorithms, and inter-operator roaming are some of the platform’s key components. With security and scalability at its core, the platform allows large-scale operators like energy companies, oil and gas, fleets, hardware manufacturers and installers to achieve quick go-to-market in a few months with a ready-made platform combined with unmatched flexibility and extensibility via APIs. AMPECO supports more than 110 charging network operators in over 45 markets and has been globally recognized by Frost & Sullivan for its superior technological innovation and strategic development with the 2022 Global Product Leadership Award.

Cyclic Materials provides recycling services that recover rare earth elements aiming to reduce the opening of new mines and accelerate the transition to electric mobility and cleaner energy. It operates landfill-bound products and recovering their critical metals that help businesses in supplying wind turbines, electric vehicles, and electronics segments by reducing CO2 emissions.

We are DeepDrive, a high-tech company headquartered in Munich, Germany, offering revolutionary drive units for electric vehicles.  Our patented DeepDrive Dual Rotor technology increases vehicle range by up to 20 % and significantly decreases their costs, enabling the next generation of cheaper, more sustainable EVs. Our drive units are highly compact and torque dense and can be integrated within the wheels or as a traditional central drive. They are optimized for low-cost, large-scale production and offer maximum performance and efficiency. We are currently working with eight of the top ten automakers on various development projects and are on track to introduce the DeepDrive Dual Rotor to the market in large-scale series production by 2026.  Our team consists of 30 + experts with experience from leading players in the automotive industry and is backed by high-profile investors, including BMW i Ventures, Continental's CVC, UVC Partners, and Bayern Kapital. Additional investors include industry veteran Dr. Peter Mertens (former board member and CTO of Audi and Volvo) and top start-up executive Jonas Rieke (COO of Personio).

RunSafe Security is on a mission to immunize software from cyber attacks and disrupt hacker economics without developer friction. RunSafe's patented technology, Alkemist, inoculates customers' systems from an entire class of cyber attacks by stopping the infection at its source. Our customers integrate our product across build and deploy toolchains to protect open source, in-house code, and 3rd party binaries.  Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with an office in Huntsville, Alabama, RunSafe Security's customers span the critical infrastructure, IIoT, automotive, medical, develops, and national security industries.

Simr Platform revolutionizes simulation-driven decision-making by automating and securing complex simulations. Designed for industries such as aerospace, automotive, biomedical engineering, and defense, Simr enhances efficiency, innovation, and product quality. The platform follows SimOps best practices, integrates seamlessly with existing IT infrastructures, supporting diverse simulation needs from component-level to system-level analyses. With advanced features like AI/ML integration, multi-node compute clusters, and robust security measures, Simr empowers engineering teams to focus on strategic insights rather than technical complexities. Simr’s user-friendly, self-service interface reduces reliance on specialized HPC skills, accelerates product development, and ensures compliance with industry standards, making it an indispensable tool for maintaining a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving market.

Rapid Liquid Print is working on 3D printers that create stretchy products for industrial materials. Their services include medical devices, footwear, home goods, furniture, aviation, and automotive components.

Bcomp is a Fribourg-based startup that specializes in natural fiber composites. Bcomp has developed and patented technologies allowing the fabrication of structural parts from natural fibres. The company's IP is composed of a patent and several years of developments of specific processing technologies derived from the aerospace or marine industry. While  increasing and consolidating our R&D efforts through a network of academic partners, the company develop  products in close collaboration with the company'scustomers to account for their specific needs.

Recogni develops AI-based inference processing solutions for Generative AI and intelligent autonomous platforms. Recogni delivers solutions for high compute, low power, and scalability.

Skylo Technologies is a global NTN service provider based in Mountain View, CA, offering a service that allows smartphone and IoT cellular devices to connect directly over existing satellites. Devices connected over satellite are managed and served by Skylo's commercial NTN vRAN, featuring a 3GPP standards-based cloud-native base station and core. Skylo works with existing satellite operators, network operators, and device makers to provide subscribers an anywhere, anytime connectivity solution that seamlessly roams between terrestrial and satellite networks.

Lilac Solutions is a developer of lithium extraction technology that absorbs lithium from brine deposits. The company's technology is based on ion-exchange theory, which allows lithium producers to accelerate project development, increase lithium recovery, and streamline operations while reducing costs and environmental impact.

Ascon Systems is a software company that focuses on complex process and technology consulting in the field of digital change projects.

May Mobility specializes in autonomous vehicle technology development and deployment. The company's technology studies the city's traffic and commuter flow, identifying bottlenecks and gaps in the current public transit schema to design the optimal routes for communities. The company also offers a fleet operation service and provides daily transit by deploying autonomous shuttles to reduce human error in driving, reduce pollution, and create greater economic benefit for communities and riders, enabling public transportation systems to create a safer, greener, more efficient environment.

Formant is a monitoring and operations infrastructure that allows companies to monitor robot fleets, receive alerts, and embark on root cause analyses when something goes wrong. Its platform is built on a secure and scalable cloud stack that can integrate robotic applications and existing tools that lets clients with a cloud infrastructure aid in robotic automation. Founded by a team of former Google, Savioke, and Redwood Robotics software engineers, roboticists, and product managers—Formant believes that more efficient cloud infrastructure can help unlock the shared potential of humans and robots. The company was established in 2017 and is based in San Francisco, California.

Plus One Robotics develops a parcel-handling robotics platform for logistics applications. Plus One's intelligent solutions combine computer vision, AI, and supervised autonomy to pick parcels for the Global 100's leading logistics and e-commerce companies. Plus One's AI-powered software determines the precise movement of millions of SKUs in routine tasks like sortation and depalletizing. Plus One focuses on logistics application development and logistics robot deployment for material handling tasks in warehouses and distribution centers.

MacroFab builds millions of custom-manufactured PCBA products every year through its North American factory lines.  The company's easy-to-use platform reduces upfront costs and complexity while making it easier for companies of any size and at any stage of product development to bring products to market quickly and efficiently.   By enhancing transparency and traceability,  our technology platform helps teams maintain resiliency in the face of rapidly changing conditions by integrating design data, getting early risk feedback, and managing production around fast-changing conditions.

Jetti makes it possible to extract copper from low-grade primary sulfides, such as chalcopyrite, the world’s most abundant copper mineral ore. Jetti’s commercially proven and proprietary catalytic technology addresses the key technical problem preventing the recovery of trillions of dollars of trapped resources. We apply our catalysts to hundreds of millions of tons of ore, and significantly increase copper yields in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible manner.

Actnano is a nanotechnology company that specializes in automotive, consumer electronics, and smart coating solutions that make products water-resistant. The company enables the protection of a variety of materials from water damage and harsh environmental conditions. Its technology provides a broad spectrum of transparent nano guard coatings that can be applied to electronic devices in a way that makes them water-resistant to IPx7 levels, enabling clients to keep their electronics and gadgets protected and last long in an economical way. actnano was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Founded in 2017, Fox Robotics is leading the industry in autonomous pallet workflows to improve workplace safety and productivity in warehouses across the U.S. and Canada. The company develops, manufactures, and sells the world's first autonomous trailer loader/unloader, the FoxBot. Fox Robotics is backed by investments from BMW i Ventures and Zebra Technologies Corp. To learn more, visit FoxRobotics.com or follow Fox Robotics on LinkedIn.

Alitheon is a developer of machine vision software designed to trace the lifecycle of goods without labels, markings, or packaging. The company software helps identify objects and prevent counterfeits using digital fingerprints, allowing users to authenticate, identify, and trace items, parts, and products with just a simple photo. Alitheon was established in 2017 by Scot Land and David Ross in Bellevue, Washington

Bremen-based software company ELISE GmbH has created the first low-code development platform for engineering. Engineers can use it to automate recurring tasks across all domains in a single environment. Thus, unlike in classical design processes, ELISE enables algorithm-based modeling. As a result of this automation, developers can return to creative activities and ultimately design faster and better products. On ELISE, all data and the entire expert knowledge of the development process are integrated. Engineers are thus provided with technical capabilities that are otherwise only available to software developers, despite their diverse skills. This is achieved through a visual programming language for which no special IT knowledge is required. Users of ELISE work in numerous industries, including automotive, aerospace and medical technology. The platform’s potential has been proven at customers such as Volkswagen, BMW, Hyundai, Brose and EDAG. With the help of ELISE, they were able to design individual components up to 90 percent faster than before.

Turntide specializes in developing sustainable technologies that drive down energy consumption and operating costs in buildings, agriculture, and electric transport, boosting bottom lines and accelerating a global path to 100% renewable energy. It has developed an efficient electric motor system, based on revolutionary switched reluctance technology, managed by advanced cloud software. Its goal is to eliminate the 25% of global electricity consumption that is wasted by legacy electric motors, thus accelerating the world’s transition from fossil fuels and leaving them in the ground where they belong. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.

Vendia is the future of collective data intelligence, combining smart APIs, databases, and distributed ledger technology inside a single platform. Vendia’s data automation cloud makes it easy to share data inside and outside of the organization in real time and with full visibility, governance, and control. Companies such as BMW, Delta Airlines, Resolution Life Insurance, and Fannie Mae use Vendia to automate contextual and compliant data flows between any-to-any systems for a harmonized, accurate view of data that unlocks speed, innovation, and cost savings. Learn more about us at Vendia.com and #UnchainYourData with Vendia.

Mangrove Lithium, a Vancouver-based company, has developed a breakthrough platform for the most cost-effective production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate from diverse input streams and assets. Mangrove’s modular solution can be scaled to any capacity and co-located with upstream lithium producers or cathode and cell manufacturers. The platform technology is also being commercialized for the conversion of waste brines to chemicals and desalinated water.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a global major trend. It promises a future in which people and processes communicate and interact with each other fully automatically, almost as if controlled by magic. But to achieve this, we need to know the exact location and status of all relevant ​“things.” We need to connect these things. And this requires a real-time intelligence that lets everything communicate as quickly and intelligently as possible. That’s exactly what we at KINEXON do. For this purpose we offer real-time location solutions and and open edge computing platforms.

Natural Fiber Welding develops a circularity platform producing sustainable materials from plants. Its multi-material platform serves a wide range of industries from fashion and footwear to automotive and upholstery. Its technology embeds seamlessly into existing supply chains, enabling iconic brands to design and scale products with high-performance, plastic-free materials.

Autobrains revolutionary automotive visual intelligence platform is built on the foundation of a mature self-learning technology backed by more than 200 patents. Utilizing robust signature-based representation structures coupled with unsupervised learning methodologies, Cartica’s visual intelligence platform garners a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the vehicle’s environment.

Our Next Energy is a developer of energy storage technology to expand access to sustainable power. Our Next Energy focuses on safer battery chemistries that use sustainable raw materials while creating a reliable, low cost and conflict-free supply chain. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in Novi, Michigan.

CelLink is an early-stage hardware startup that is developing a flexible conductive backplane for power electronics, including batteries, light-emitting diodes, wire harnessing, solar cells, and other devices requiring power transmission.

Verusen is a Supply Chain Intelligence company that uses AI to provide complex global supply chains visibility, digitization and predictive inventory for materials management. The company’s platform harmonizes disparate material data across many ERP instances/systems while providing accurate MDM across the enterprise to reduce inventory costs and build trust in production uptime. Intelligent controls enforce inventory procedures to help prevent future inventory spikes, while predictive capabilities optimize allocation and procurement needs. The result is a data foundation you can trust to move quickly to innovate and support related Industry 4.0 initiatives.

HeyCharge provides charging infrastructure, payment systems, and installation for electric vehicles. The company was founded in 2020 and is headquartered in Munich, Bavaria.

Motorway started in 2017 with a vision to build a better car market for everyone, harnessing the power of technology to deliver an amazing experience. We help everyone to quickly and easily sell their car for the best price from the comfort of home, using only a phone. Transparent and straightforward in all that we do, our smart tech matches our customers’ cars with a nationwide network of verified dealers. This enables those dealers to buy vehicles direct from private sellers using our fully-online sales platform, with hundreds of cars successfully sold every day. Reducing time and effort on all sides, we help everyone get the right deal quickly. It all, just, works. With over 1m car owners using our site and apps every month, we've grown by over 100% year-on-year and the journey's just begun.

GaN Systems offers a range of Gallium Nitride high-power switching diodes and transistors for clean tech power conversion applications.

Upstream Security provides a cloud-based data management platform purpose-built for connected vehicles, delivering unparalleled automotive cybersecurity detection and response (V-XDR) and data-driven applications. The Upstream Platform unlocks the value of vehicle data, empowering customers to build connected vehicle applications by transforming highly distributed vehicle data into centralized, structured, contextualized data lakes. Coupled with AutoThreat® Intelligence, the first automotive cybersecurity threat intelligence solution, Upstream provides industry-leading cyber threat protection and actionable insights, seamlessly integrated into the customer’s environment and vehicle security operations centers (VSOC). Upstream’s customers include some of the world’s leading automotive OEMs, suppliers, and others, protecting millions of vehicles.

Zūm is a provider of safe, efficient, and reliable child transportation for school districts and busy families. Zūm saves schools money and parents time by providing flexible transportation options through its network of highly vetted drivers and advanced scheduling, routing, and tracking technology. The company currently provides children’s transportation service in the San Francisco Bay Area, all of Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. Zūm was founded in 2015 and is based in Redwood City, California.

GenXComm's robust Simultaneous Self Interference Cancellation (S-SIX) Technology enables maximal use of available spectrum just as carriers are planning their 5G cellular network deployments to cope with a flood of new wireless devices and rapidly increasing data demands on their networks. Today, communications between wireless transceivers use multiple frequencies (FDD) or time slots (TDD). GenXComm’s S-SIX technology enables true full duplex or simultaneous transmission and reception of signals in the same channel. The value proposition of GenXComm’s technology goes well beyond just enabling true full duplex, and can improve the throughput of the network by over an order of magnitude. S-SIX also significantly reduces the latency and improves network adaptability and security. GenXComm’s S-SIX is a key enabling technology for an increasingly connected world.

Kodiak Robotics develops autonomous technology for long-haul trucking. It specializes in the fields of autonomous vehicles, information technology, software, logistics, and robotics. It was founded in 2018 and headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Boston Metal is a metallurgy company developing technology to reduce the carbon footprint of steel production. The company provides industrial-scale, metal production solutions utilizing its Molten Oxide Electrolysis (MOE) process. MOE provides the metals industry with a more efficient, lower-cost, and greener solution for the production of a wide array of metals and alloys from a wide variety of feedstocks. Boston Metal was spun out of MIT in 2012 with an investment from Ingo Wender and has since scaled the technology 1,000x and produced thousands of kilograms of metal. Boston Metal’s headquarters and industrial development center are located in Woburn, MA.

Solid Power is a developer of solid-state rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles and mobile power markets. Possessing no volatile or flammable liquid components, its solid-state batteries are extremely energy-dense while also possessing ultimate safety and reliability. Together, these performance attributes can enable profound performance improvements of battery-powered devices such as portable electronics, electric vehicles, aircraft, and satellites through increased run time, increased safety, and lower cost.

Graphcore is a startup that develops a microprocessor designed for AI and machine learning applications. It has created a new processor, the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU) for artificial intelligence. The IPU’s unique architecture means developers can run current machine learning models orders of magnitude faster.  The company was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom.

Xometry is a AI-enabled marketplace for on-demand manufacturing, transforming one of the largest industries in the world. Xometry uses its proprietary technology to create a marketplace that enables buyers to efficiently source on-demand manufactured parts and assemblies, and empowers sellers of manufacturing services to grow their businesses.

AutoFi is a commerce platform delivering point of sale solution for financing a vehicle online. The platform allows consumers to purchase and finance a vehicle entirely online through a seamless user experience and an automated application and approval process. The company's platform connects an auto dealer’s customers to a network of lenders, providing a fast, mobile-first checkout experience. It provides vehicle buyers instant full spectrum decisions with customizable terms.

DSP Concepts is the Silicon Valley based leader in the Audio of Things (AoT) market and the creator of Audio Weaver, the Audio Experience platform that makes audio innovation easy. DSP Concepts equips and supports engineers with real-time workflows to quickly stand up prototypes, collaborate and modify designs across teams, and deploy to the most popular chipsets from leading semiconductor companies including NXP, Qualcomm, STMicroelectronics, Cadence, Arm, and others. DSP Concepts technologies are embedded in millions of automotive and consumer products, delivering remarkable Audio Experience solutions to prestigious brands including Bang & Olufsen, BMW, Braun, Facebook, Garmin, GoPro, LG, Mercedes Benz, Panasonic, Peloton, Porsche, Samsung, Sennheiser, Spotify, Tesla, and many more.

Trifacta delivers an intelligent, collaborative, visual data engineering cloud platform to transform data, ensure quality, and automate data pipelines, enabling consumable data at any scale. With universal data connectivity, Trifacta provides flexibility to connect to any data from any source for any application. Using an AI-assisted, self-service approach, Trifacta users can collaborate to evaluate, correct, and validate data quality, accelerate data transformation, and automate robust data pipelines. Trifacta’s open cloud platform drives increased business value through informed decisions. Around the globe, tens of thousands of users at more than 10,000 companies, including leading brands like Deutsche Boerse, Google, Kaiser Permanente, New York Life, and PepsiCo, are unlocking the potential of their data with Trifacta’s market-leading data engineering cloud platform. Learn more at https://www.trifacta.com

Bus.com is a bus rental platform that allows its clients to plan and book group transportation online. Its web app makes it easy to organize, book, join and enjoy bus trips. T The company was founded by travel industry veterans and built with startup hustle. Its headquarters is located at Montreal, Quebec.

MODit provides smart, automated quality control for manufacturing.  MODit's mass-deployable 3D scanning systems and cloud platform increase yields and streamline quality communication across the supply chain.

Yellowbrick Data was founded in 2014 by experts in database and flash memory technologies to simplify data warehousing. They wanted to solve the challenges of high availability, running complex mixed workloads, support for ad-hoc SQL, computing correct answers on any schema, massive scalability and supporting large numbers of concurrent users. Yellowbrick Data empowers companies to make faster decisions with all of their data. Built for enterprises and the hybrid cloud, the Yellowbrick Data Warehouse deploys powerful analytics anywhere, with best-in-class economics.

Yellowbrick empowers the next generation of talent to discover, pursue, upskill, and advance their career within the creative arts, media and entertainment fields.  In partnership with industry leaders in the creative arts, media, entertainment, and education — we develop experiences that help the next generation of leaders achieve their career objectives.

Bright Machines is a manufacturing startup that aims to eliminate manual labor from manufacturing electronic devices by combining robots and new software. Its software-defined manufacturing platform helps customers innovate faster to meet the growing demands of a new era of manufacturing. The company was founded by former Autodesk executive, Armar Hanspal, in 2018.

Urgently is a digital roadside assistance platform that features a roadside assistance industry to the benefit of global brands, roadside assistance professionals, and consumers. Its solution delivers the quickest, safest, and most innovative roadside assistance service, products and technology by combining location-based services, real-time data, AI, and machine-to-machine communication.

ChargePoint brings electric vehicle (EV) charging to more people and places than ever before as the world’s leading EV charging network. These stations are available as public charging stations, consumer subscription plans, and utility grid management technology for electric utility companies to smooth electric demands on the grid. The ChargePoint app connects users to a vast network of EV charging stations, allowing them to find, start, and track charging sessions, thereby enhancing the user experience.

Disruptive Antenna and Sensor Technology for 5G and Autonomous Driving

Shift is an online marketplace for buying and selling used cars.  Acting as a personal concierge service, the company details cars, lists them on multiple lists, handles test drives, and finds intent buyers. Charging a Shift Service Fee for registration, car prep services, and sales tax, Shift provides customers with a 150-point concierge report that includes specs, high-resolution photos, vehicle history, and results on their cars before purchase.

Vera enables organizations to secure, track, and revoke access to confidential data, across any platform or device. Vera encrypts and protects critical enterprise data while still allowing collaborators to create, access, edit, store, and share data easily using the apps, web services (e.g. Box, Dropbox), and devices they prefer. It was founded in 2014 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Positively disrupting an industry that has not seen disruption in over 50 years, Tekion has challenged the paradigm with the first and fastest cloud-native automotive platform that includes the revolutionary Automotive Retail Cloud (ARC) for retailers, Automotive Enterprise Cloud (AEC) for manufacturers and other large automotive enterprises and Automotive Partner Cloud (APC) for technology and industry partners. Tekion connects the entire spectrum of the automotive retail ecosystem through one seamless platform. The transformative platform uses cutting-edge technology, big data, machine learning, and AI to seamlessly bring together OEMs, retailers/dealers and consumers. With its highly configurable integration and greater customer engagement capabilities, Tekion is enabling the best automotive retail experiences ever.

Claroty is an industrial cybersecurity company that helps customers reveal, protect, and manage OT, IoT, and IIoT assets. The company provides a platform that connects seamlessly with customers' existing infrastructure and programs while offering a full range of industrial cybersecurity controls for visibility, threat detection, risk, and vulnerability management, and secure remote access with a significantly reduced total cost of ownership.

Caroobi is an integrated marketplace for automotive aftersales. The company's mission is to provide the best end-to-end repair experience with a 100% transparent and easy booking process. They seek to revolutionize the automotive aftersales industry – across Europe and throughout the world. Founded in 2015, the company is headquartered in Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

Mapillary is the street-level imagery platform that scales and automates mapping using collaboration, cameras, and computer vision. Images from any camera are combined into a visualization of the world that generates map data for improving maps, developing cities, and progressing the automotive industry. Mapillary’s tools enable anyone to collect, share, and use street-level images. Today, people and organizations all over the world have contributed more than 500 million images toward Mapillary's mission of helping people understand the world's places through images and making this data available, with clients and partners including the World Bank, HERE, and Toyota Research Institute.

Blackmore Sensors and Analytics develops frequency-modulated continuous wave lidar imaging and its supporting analytic tools software.

Fair is a car leasing company that aims to grant access to mobility to everyone by pioneering the car-as-a-service (CaaS) concept. It gives customers the freedom to drive the car they want for as long as they want, and the flexibility to walk away at any time.

Moovit is a Mobility as a Service (MaaS) provider and the world’s #1 transit app. Moovit simplifies your urban mobility in +2700 cities all around the world, making getting around town via mass transit easier and more convenient. Moovit has more than 300 million users, and was named Best Local App of 2016 by Google and Best of 2017 app by Apple. By combining information from public transit operators and authorities with live information from the user community, Moovit offers travelers a real-time picture, including the best route for their journey. The Moovit community sends active reports about their travel experience, such as bus congestion levels, cleanliness, and more to help others have a better travel experience. Moovit generates up to four billion anonymous data points a day that comprise the world's largest repository of transit data. The Big Data gathering is aided by Moovit’s network of more than 500,000 local editors, called “Mooviters”, who help map out and maintain local transit information in cities that would otherwise be unserved. Moovit is available for free on iOS, Android & Web in over 2,700 cities, across 86 countries worldwide, and can be used in 44 languages.

BMW i Ventures invests in cutting-edge solutions focusing on BMW’s current and future business in the technology and customer and service space. BMW i Ventures invests in high-performance companies and helps them execute quickly by delivering agile precision—ensuring real-world impact on hardware, software, sustainability across manufacturing, transportation, and services.

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