Cognata Raised $18.5M for Autonomous Vehicles Simulation

18 October, 2018

Its VR simulator enableS autonomous car manufacturers to run thousands of different scenarios based on various geographic locations and driver behaviors

Cognata has closed an $18.5 million funding round led by Scale Venture Partners with the participation of existing investors, Emerge, Maniv Mobility, and Airbus Ventures and also the addition of the Japanese Global IoT Technology Ventures. The company will use the funding to grow its engineering group and to start commercial operations in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Cognata developed an automotive simulation platform combines artificial intelligence, deep learning, and computer vision to provide a realistic virtual environment that accurately simulates real-world test driving. The method allows to validate autonomous vehicle safety via simulation, to accelerate the development by allowing the testing of a broad range of scenarios in a safe and controlled environment.

Driving a virtual car in a virtual street in a virtual city....
Driving a virtual car in a virtual street in a virtual city….

Cognata’s virtual reality simulator and engine enable autonomous car manufacturers to run thousands of different scenarios based on various geographic locations and driver behaviors, and sharing the road with other users. The company was founded in 2016 by a team of experts in deep learning, autonomous vehicles and computer vision, led by Danny Atsmon, the CEO and Founder (photo above).

Recently it announced that Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH (AID), a wholly-owned subsidiary of AUDI AG, selected Cognata as its autonomous vehicle simulation partner. “Simulation is critical to driving autonomous vehicle technology forward,” said Danny Atsmon.

Cognata uses patented computer vision and deep learning algorithms to automatically generate a whole city-simulator including buildings, roads , lane marks, traffic signs and even trees and bushes. According to Atsmon, “You need 10B miles, or hundreds of years of active driving, in order to bring an autonomous vehicle to the human level. We can shave off years from the time and budget required to bring an autonomous vehicle to the market.”

Share via Whatsapp

Posted in: Autonomous Car , News

Posted in tags: COGNATA