Verne

As of February 2024, Croatia-based Verne (formerly known as Project 3 Mobility) was developing an urban autonomous mobility ecosystem. The company is a stand-alone brand within the Rimac Group portfolio. Verne’s ecosystem consists of three primary components: autonomous electric vehicles (EVs), specialized infrastructure, and a service platform. The robotaxis would be fully autonomous, with the ability to drive without human input and would operate within autonomous driving infrastructure including charging points, storage hubs, and allotted parking spaces. The company had plans to carry out product development in Zagreb, Croatia, with R&D support from Rimac’s UK facility. 

Verne plans to offer the vehicles on a mobility-as-a-service basis, via a robotaxi service. The company had plans to launch commercial operations in Zagreb in 2026, eventually expanding to Germany and the UK by 2027. As of June 2024, the company had signed contracts in 10 other cities around the world for this service, with plans to add a further 20 more cities.

Key customers and partnerships

In February 2024, Verne partnered with Mobileye, an Intel subsidiary developing technology for self-driving vehicles, to retrofit the latter’s self-driving technology, “Mobileye Drive,” into its EVs.

Funding and financials

In February 2024, Verne raised EUR 100 million (USD 108 million) in a Series A funding round with participation from TASARU Mobility Investments, a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF). The company intended to use the funds for further product development and to expand the team. Previously, in May 2023, the company received a grant of EUR 179.5 million (approximately USD 190 million) from the European Commission for the R&D and production of the vehicles and infrastructure.

Key competitors: None comparable (Verne is the only company that develops autonomous vehicles for Croatia.)