Gestigon, a gesture tracking software developer spun out of Lübeck University, was acquired by automotive supplier Valeo on Monday for an undisclosed sum.
Gestigon will become part of the corporate’s Comfort and Driving Assistance Business Group.
Founded in 2011, Gestigon has developed artificial intelligence software that captures data from 3D sensors to track human gestures and recognise body movements.
The technology will be integrated with Valeo’s own offering, a driver monitoring system that is capable, for example, of sensing drowsiness or distraction and take appropriate measures to guarantee the driver’s and passengers’ safety.
Gestigon previously raised “several millions of dollars” in a series A2 round in 2015 led by multi-family office NBR Technology Ventures, with participation from public-private partnership High Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) and Vorwerk Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of diversified conglomerate Vorwerk.
Mittelständische Beteiligungsgesellschaft Schleswig-Holstein (MBG-SH), created by the German state’s government, HTGF and Lübeck Business Angels previously also backed a series A1 round in 2014. HTGF and MBG-SH participated in a seed round in 2012.
MBG-SH and Lübeck Business Angels had earlier also supported a pre-seed round.
Torsten Löffler, senior investment manager at HTGF, said: “Our early investment in Gestigon has paid off.
“The combination of a very strong technology, an impressive client portfolio and a highly motivated team led by CEO Moritz von Grotthuss and chief technology officer Sascha Klement has proved to be a key factor in the success achieved.”
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site Global Government Venturing.
