AIDrivers has successfully completed a fund raising for an undisclosed amount, exceeding management expectations, the company has revealed.
Given the difficult market backdrop this year, management were extremely pleased with the support from new and existing shareholders including strategic investment from Brazil’s Wilson Sons Group.
The proceeds will be used to scale the production team for autonomous retrofitting solutions for new and existing contracts as well as to continue developing specialised Ai enabled mobility solutions in the ports sector delivering resilience and efficiency for a sustainable future.
According to the company, there has been a sharp increase in demand for AIDrivers’ innovative technology that enables port operators to automate their trucks and cranes in existing terminals without the need for further infrastructure investment.
Ai enabled automation improves safety and resilience, allowing port operators to efficiently manage disruptions such as pandemics with fewer interruptions and at a lower cost. There is a significant growth opportunity for AIDrivers from this paradigm shift in addressing the ongoing mobility challenges facing the port sector.
Dr Rafiq Swash, Founder and CEO of AIDrivers said, “Given the difficult economic environment that Covid-19 has created, it is particularly pleasing to attract such strong investor interest.”
The new funding will help us to meet the market demand and continue the strong growth of the company. We were already receiving a lot of interest in our technology from global port operators and the pandemic has only increased this interest as sustainability, resilience and automation have risen up the industrial agenda in response to a difficult 2020.
“At AIDrivers, we are a multidisciplinary team with diverse industrial experiences capable of meeting market needs by overcoming existing automation limitations. I am looking forward to building on our strengths as we position the company for continued growth. AIDrivers has an exciting future.”
AIDrivers’ system uses Ai enabled algorithms with multi-sensory fusion to deliver safety requirements for industrial applications in the dynamic and noisy environment of seaport terminals. It is the effective fusion of sensors and Ai algorithms that deliver reliable and safe-to-use perception, precision positioning and an autonomous driving experience for complex heavy vehicles.
The ability of AIDrivers’ technology to deliver higher levels of safety and productivity whilst reducing costs in industrial mobility automation, has already been proven in successful port trials. The company is currently working with leading port operators across the globe to retrofit existing fleets with Ai enabled autonomous solutions.
The successful trials and integration with existing systems have led to follow-on contracts to retrofit trucks with autonomous technology and other specialist industrial vehicles in ports.
AIDrivers has already built a strong brand in the field of autonomous vehicles for container ports and is partnering with some of the leading industrial OEM companies and port operators in this area.
Cezar Baião, CEO of Wilson Sons Operations in Brazil said, “Throughout 183 years of experience, it might be redundant to emphasize that Wilson Sons’ capacity for reinvention is part of its DNA. With this background, it was only natural that, from the very first meeting, AIDrivers’ pioneering solutions and technology for the port industry motivated Wilson Sons to be part of this revolution.
“The development of this type of product could be an efficiency game-changer for all brownfield Container Terminals in the world. Delivering products and solutions to important global players, AIDrivers’ moment is not the future, but now”.
