EPFL spinout Bestmile is winding down, citing pandemic-related challenges and a failed attempt at getting acquired.
Bestmile, a Switzerland-based fleet automation technology developer spun out of EPFL, is shutting down due to pandemic-induced challenges, according to Le Temps.
The spinout had attempted to find a buyer last autumn, but this proved to be in vain. It has CHF2m ($2.2m) of cash left in the bank, which it will use to pay final salaries to its 45 members of staff.
Founded in 2014, Bestmile built a cloud-based platform to manage fleets of autonomous vehicles. It had expanded internationally, into markets such as Canada.
The spinout most recently raised $16.5m in a series B round co-led by Blue Lagoon Capital and TransLink Capital in August 2019, with participation from airport operator Groupe ADP and Airbus Ventures, the investment unit of aerospace technology producer Airbus.
Road Ventures, Partech Ventures, Serena Capital and undisclosed additional investors also backed the series B round, which followed an $11m series A round in March 2018 led by Road Ventures.
The series A round also attracted Groupe ADP, Airbus Ventures, Partech, Serena Capital and MobilityFund.
Airbus Ventures, Partech, Serena Capital, Perot Jain, Forticap and assorted angel investors had supplied $5.5m in seed financing in 2017.
Raphael Gindrat, chief executive and co-founder of Bestmile, told Le Temps: “We fought, until the end, to find solutions, to continue to develop our platform and to preserve jobs. With our board of directors, we tried everything. But now there is no other choice.” [translated from French by Global University Venturing]
