In November 2021, Autobrains, a company that develops artificial intelligence (AI) for assisted and autonomous driving, announced that it had raised $101 million in Series C funding. But the Israeli company isn’t a new player on the block. In fact, it’s a spin-off of the Cortica Group, a well-established player in the space backed by hundreds of patents with leading AI technology for autonomous platforms in different verticals.
To understand how this works, and what the recent funding round means for the company, Auto Futures caught up CEO and founder, Igal Raichelgauz.
“We are the vertical focused exclusively on mobility and the autonomous vehicles field and building self-learning AI for the next generation of autonomous driving,” explains Raichelgauz.
“At Autobrains, we are applying radically reimagined AI, using a signature-based approach, which is setting us on the path to achieving full autonomous driving faster and safer than existing players in the market. Our self-learning AI is overcoming today’s shortcomings in autonomous driving, bridging the industry’s gaps. Through our unique AI, we are on the mission to become the leading AI company for the safe and scalable transition to autonomous driving.”
Autobrains has developed a full spectrum of functionality, from Level 1 to 3, and is rapidly advancing to fully autonomous vehicles. Its Cartex suite of products ranges from entry level NCAP cameras, to offerings with greater functionality and processing power, to fully autonomous systems.
Its newest product, Cartex 5, is bridging the path to full autonomy enabling highly automated driving and hands-free driving functions. For starters, it offers unique features for unanticipated edge case scenarios, using the highest available granularity of detection and segmentation.
“We also offer Cartex 4F as an add-on of radar low-level fusion technology. Cartex 4F is now a unique feature that can be built into all Cartex 4 products, and it is an integral part of Cartex 5. Autobrains’ unique approach for low-level fusion involves processing of the raw radar and camera signals, providing exceptional perception and detection of otherwise unseen objects. With just a front-facing smart-camera, Cartex 4H offers outstanding perception features with the capabilities to function in varying conditions, thereby enhancing safety and comfort.,” says Raichelgauz.
Cartex 4H also offers features such as free-space detection and animal detection.
“Cartex 4M is our market entry level product that is extremely cost effective. A Cartex 4M based smart-camera is capable of a 5-star rating in NCAP 2023 with low-level radar fusion and 4-star rating with just a camera sensor, along with adaptive cruise control, and many other features. We are proud to score 5-stars on all safety regulations and that our products are 40% less cost and 10x less on energy consumption,” he adds.
“Our technology is rapidly advancing to bring it into the tangible present.”
What really sets Autobrains apart from other players in this space is the company’s technology.
“Autobrains has developed technology that is neuro-inspired. This means that we apply self-learning AI perception software and self-learning-based algorithms that acquire knowledge like the human brain through neural networks; it completely mirrors how humans see, learn, and act, while utilising super-human perception through a variety of sensor modalities such as camera, radar and LiDAR,” Raichelgauz explains.
“Our system maps real-world data, in real time, to compressed signatures in order to identify concepts and scenarios for optimal decision making. Our technology enables self-driving to be adaptive, predictive, safer, use 10x less computing power and less energy and as said previously, it reduces the cost by up to 40%. It provides the most sophisticated and affordable advances in AI on the market and will usher in a new era of safety and autonomy that will advance the adoption of ADAS and AV systems,” he says.
“Lastly, our competitors offer black-box software and chip bundles that are produced on a mass level. Autobrains applies self-learning open-AI software that is adaptively tailored to the specifications of each customer.”
One of Autobrains’ biggest and most important advantages when it comes to competition is its software-first approach. Autobrains’ software technology is hardware agnostic. The technology is demonstrated on various hardware platforms and enables its OEM and Tier-1 partners the ability to choose any hardware provider according to their interests and needs.
“These partnerships enable Autobrains to develop strong strategic relationships and accelerate the development of its technology. Our Tier-1 partners have committed far beyond the typical Tier-1 and Tier-2 relationship, allowing Autobrains to benefit from its engineering resources, huge validation databases, testing fleet, sales force, safety procedures and more. In our approach to OEMs, both the Tier-1s and Autobrains are interfacing with the customer, however it is evident that Autobrains’ AI technology is enabling the overall product offering.”
Autobrains’ investors include major automotive players such as BMW, Continental AG, Knorr-Bremse AG and Vietnam’s VinFast. We asked Raichelgauz what does the $101 million raised in Series C funding mean for his company.
“This funding is an excellent opportunity for Autobrains to accelerate the development of our technology and enhance our self-learning capabilities. Looking ahead, we will grow the company’s commercial reach into new global markets with sites in Asia, Europe and the US. We see that the future of mobility will be powered by AI and our advanced technology is paving the way for the next generation of mobility with safer assisted driving capabilities and transforming how we approach full autonomous driving.”
“We are forging on to fulfil what seems to be that perpetual promise of autonomous vehicles, for Autobrains, our technology is rapidly advancing to bring it into the tangible present,” he adds.
Clearly, there’s a lot going on at Autobrains, so when can we expect to see Autobrains’ technology hit the road? It won’t be that long, promises Raichelgauz. “Autobrains is in advanced stages of discussions with its OEMs and Tier-1 partners. We are eager and ready, expecting to see deployment of our technology by 2023.”
Keyword: Ushering in a new era of “Safety and Autonomy” – Israel’s AI-Tech Company Autobrains