Oxford driverless car start-up Oxbotica raises $47m

An Oxbotica driverless car

BP has taken a stake in self-driving vehicle start-up Oxbotica as part of a $47m (£34.5m) funding round.

The oil and gas major invested alongside Chinese internet giant Tencent, London-listed IP Group and British fund BGF.

Oxbotica develops software for autonomous vehicles, specialising in industrial vehicles. It was founded by Oxford University’s Paul Newman, part of a team at the Oxford Robotics Institute that developed the first autonomous test car for British roads.

The start-up has experimented with robot taxis. In 2018, it announced it was working with Addison Lee on a robotaxi project for London, although the taxi firm quit the partnership in March last year after it was acquired by new investors.

An Oxbotica spokesperson said the start-up was now the lead partner and was planning a “multi-city autonomous vehicle demonstration” in Oxford and Greenwich.

Since then, Oxbotica’s projects have gained traction for industrial uses, signing a deal with mining company Wenco to develop self-driving systems for mining vehicles.

Oxbotica’s self-driving software is designed to work independently of GPS or high definition maps, meaning it can work even if it is cut off from signals or underground. It can combine lasers, radar and computer vision cameras to navigate.

It is not the first autonomous vehicle investment for BP, which has previously invested in autonomous trucking firm Peloton Technologies. In 2018, BP also acquired Chargemaster, the UK’s largest electric charging provider.

The deal also represents the latest in a string of UK investments for Tencent, the Chinese technology and gaming giant. 

According to The Information, Oxbotica also explored a possible sale last summer, hiring advisors GP Bullhound.