A new-age Artificial Intelligence and Robotics venture, Swaayatt Robots, operating from Bhopal, India has been able to raise $4 million from USA investors. The company’s long-term goal is to progress the scientific development of Level 5 autonomy for autonomous vehicles. This funding round has set Swaayatt Robots at $151 million post-money but is seeking $7 million more to reach a valuation of $175 million.
Financial Strategy
Prior to the current funding round, Swaayatt Robots had received $3 million in 2021 funding, of which a mere $650,000 has been spent. With the new funding in place, the combined total reaches $6.3 million to go further with its research. The company’s objective is to have a framework for managing Level 4 autonomy at the global level by the end of the year and possibly replicate the model with a $1.5 billion increase.
Sanjeev Sharma said, “In 2021, we raised $3 million, of which we have utilized only $650,000. So, in total, we now have $6.3 million to carry our research forward. We are already operating in cities, highways, and off-road locations. By the end of this year, we’ll be creating a blueprint that could solve Level Four Autonomy globally. To scale that model, we may raise around $1.5 billion.”
Autonomous Driving Technology
Swaayatt Robots has invested heavily in the development of autonomous driving technology and has demonstrated the product in urban, highway tester, and off-road settings. For instance, they have made their autonomous vehicle maneuver through situations like construction areas and uncontrolled intersections, which are some of the trickiest issues that Tesla and Waymo have yet to tackle.
Crucial Objective of Swaayatt Robots
Unlike Tesla which deals with car production and Swaayatt Robots, which is positioning itself as a research and development company operational within the highly specialized field of autonomous navigation. They are innovating in solutions to a relatively frequently unaddressed challenge of bi-directional traffic. Self-driving is also a top priority of the company, and minimizing the use of HD maps is one of the critical objectives.
Future Prospects
The company has ambition on OEM integration mainly targeting military and automated trucking industries. They envision vast possibilities for updating older models with their gadgets specifically in the North American trucking industry which is worth $800 billion. Swaayatt Robots is also in contact with other OEMs across India, although it does not directly work with Mahindra, which vehicles they use for demonstrators.
Conclusion
Swaayatt Robots is a developing industry for self-driving cars in the Indian market and has aimed at Level 5 self-driving capabilities. The recent capital fundraising will enhance their research and development capacity and enable them to target key growth markets at home and abroad. As they proceed with the development, Swaayatt Robots is ready to give a big boost to the autonomous driving of the future.
Image Source: Swaayatt Robots
