AI Vehicle Software Supplier Applied Intuition Raises $600M
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Artificial intelligence-powered vehicle software supplier Applied Intuition said June 17 it had raised $600 million in funding, .
Applied Intuition is building a software-defined operating system for Traton Group, the parent company of Class 8 truck maker International Motors, and has teamed up with Isuzu Motors to develop autonomous trucks.
Mountain View, Calif.-headquartered Applied Intuition is also a partner of self-driving truck technology developers Kodiak Robotics and ϳԹ.
In the passenger vehicle arena, Applied Intuition’s partners include the world’s top two automakers by sales volume: Volkswagen and Toyota. Volkswagen is the parent company of Traton.
Applied Intuition also supplies software and AI services to the construction, mining, agriculture and defense industries.
The company’s latest round of funding was led by funds managed by investment firm BlackRock and venture capital group Kleiner Perkins.
New investors in the company included mutual fund specialist Franklin Templeton, sovereign wealth funds the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi Investment Council, Indian investment group Premji Invest and venture capital firm Greycroft.
Existing investors participating in the funding round included Fidelity Management & Research Co., venture capital firm General Catalyst and former Twitter and Google executive Elad Gil.
Applied Intuition expects to use the funds to develop its next phase of vehicle intelligence products and expand the company’s product roster and team.
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“Applied Intuition is entering its next era,” said co-founder and CEO Qasar Younis. “We’re scaling up our investments in bringing intelligence into every moving machine. Everything from cars and trucks to drones and factories will be powered by AI, and our mission is to connect AI with the physical world it will transform.”
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“The last eight years have been about building the infrastructure to enable vehicle intelligence at scale,” added Peter Ludwig, fellow co-founder and chief technology officer. “The focus of this next phase is to accelerate the rollout of intelligent, software-defined systems across all domains — defense, automotive, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture. With the continued backing of our investors, we’re just getting started.”
The funding is the third cash injection in less than 18 months. In March 2024, the company raised $250 million in Series E funding, valuing it at $6 billion. In July 2024, the company raised another $300 million due to participation interest in the Series E round.
“At BlackRock, we invest in the long-term megatrends reshaping the global economy, including AI, autonomy and the broader digital evolution,” said BlackRock Managing Director Samir Menon.
“Our platform has been actively investing in the autonomous driving sector for years, and Applied Intuition has emerged as a key innovation leader. We are proud to back Applied Intuition as they continue their mission to make all vehicles intelligent,” he added.
Applied Intuition has been working with self-driving truck developers Kodiak and Torc since 2018 and early 2020, respectively.
But on March 17, Traton Group said the two companies will build vehicle software platforms.
Applied Intuition and Traton worked together for five years previously on advanced driver-assistance systems and automated driving development tools for International and sister companies Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Truck & Bus.
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Munich-based Traton said the goal of the partnership was to deliver full software-defined vehicle capabilities for its trucks and buses.
Applied Intuition will provide artificial intelligence-powered software products for the vehicles globally.
Almost exactly a year earlier, Traton teamed up with self-driving truck developer Plus to build hub-to-hub autonomous Class 8 trucks.
The companies said they had already been testing self-driving International LT Series tractors equipped with the Plus SuperDrive system on public roads in Texas.
A commercial pilot program was expected to begin by the end of 2024.
Earlier in June, Plus announced plans to go public and raise funds after inking a merger with Nasdaq-listed special purpose acquisition company Churchill Capital Corp IX.
Merging with the affiliate of the investment group that took electric automaker Lucid Motors public is Plus’ second attempt to go public.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Plus in 2021 announced plans to list via a merger with Hennessy Capital Investment Corp. V in a deal that valued the company at $3.3 billion. But that combination was dissolved in November 2021.
The combined entity will be known as PlusAI and the merger is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025. Plus has partnered with Iveco and Hyundai Motor Co. as well as Traton.
