Global technology and services providing company Bosch announces that it has acquired autonomous driving software developing company Five AI.
The acquisition will allow Bosch to further strengthen its expertise in software development for self-driving cars.
However, neither company revealed any information regarding the valuation of this acquisition deal, which was signed earlier this month, and the deal is yet to be approved by the antitrust authorities.
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With this acquisition, Five AI will become a part of Bosch’s Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division. According to the official statement, Five AI preferred Bosch over other bidders as it felt both the companies had a shared vision of automated driving and safe automated driving systems.
This new acquisition is a step towards achieving Bosch’s goal of developing SAE Level 4 automated driving systems as Five AI is a leading self-driving software developer in the region.
Dr. Markus Heyn, a member of the Bosch board of management and chairman of the Mobility Solutions business sector, said, “Scale matters in building automated driving technology. Bosch is a global leader in driving assistance technologies, with core technologies and vast data lakes that will be essential in bringing safe self-driving systems to market.”
He further added that they are looking forward to Five becoming a part of Europe’s most powerful SAE Level 4 player and contributing to Bosch’s long-term success.
Earlier this year, Bosch also acquired high-definition maps providing firm Atlatec to increase its autonomous vehicle offerings to its customers. Bosch officials mentioned that the company had acquired Atlatec as it provides all of the necessary solutions for data recording, processing, map generation, and quality control.
United Kingdom-based urban mobility software platform designer Five AI was founded by Ben Peters, John Redford, Simon Walker, Stan Boland, and Steve Allpress in 2015. The firm specializes in providing a solution for urban mobility in public transport to complex urban environments for autonomous vehicles using machine learning and artificial intelligence.
To date, Five AI has raised more than $78 million from investors like Sistema VC, Trustbridge Partners, Direct Line Insurance, Lakestar, and several others over three funding rounds.
