Toyota, Nvidia invest in Israeli developer of testing tech for autonomous vehicles

Toyota and Nvidia are among a group of investors that backed the latest funding round by Israeli mobility tech startup Foretellix, a developer of a testing and verification platform for driver assistance and autonomous driving systems.

The $43 million Series C funding for Foretellix was led by 83North Ventures. Toyota’s growth fund Woven Capital, and US chip giant Nvidia joined the financing round as new strategic investors along with Artofin VC.

The startup’s previous investors, Israeli venture capital company MoreTech Ventures, Nationwide, the VC arm of multinational automaker Volvo Group, and Jump Capital, also participated in the investment round, according to an announcement on Tuesday. The financing round takes Foretellix’s total raised capital to over $93 million.

Founded in 2018 with offices in Israel and California, Foretellix created a software platform that taps big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to test the safety of autonomous driving systems deployed in self-driving vehicles. The startup’s platform uses hyper-automation to simulate and test a multitude of different scenarios that driving systems may encounter on the road and tests their performance. Foretellix also has offices in Europe and Asia and employs more than 100 people.

“Foretellix is addressing the largest barrier for safe large-scale deployment of automated driving systems,” said Foretellix co-founder and CEO Ziv Binyamini. “The new funding will help us to address the growing demand for our solutions, extend our worldwide reach, and accelerate our vision for achieving safe autonomy.”

Among Foretellix’s largest customers are Volvo Group and Torc, a Daimler Truck subsidiary, who are using its safety-driven verification and validation platform for the development and deployment of their autonomous driving systems.

Last year, Foretellix forged a partnership with Nvidia to incorporate its drive sim simulation platform that uses multiple AI networks to turn recorded video data into simulation. Volvo has also been working jointly with Foretellix to adapt its testing system for vehicles on highways and also confined area applications, such as mines and quarries.

Vice president of investments and acquisitions for Woven by Toyota George Kellerman said the growth fund’s investment comes as the automaker is on a “mission to deliver the world’s safest, most intelligent, and human-centric mobility solutions.”

“Verification and validation technology plays a critical role in ensuring the safety and performance of innovative autonomous systems that are accelerating the future of mobility,” Kellerman said. “Foretellix is a leading player in this space, and we are excited to work together to advance automated driving technologies.”