Mitsubishi Electric, Hyundai, Toyota AI Ventures and Omron Ventures all contributed to an $11.7m round that will fund an increase in the Duke spinout's headcount.
Realtime Robotics, a US-based robotic intelligence technology spinout of Duke University, has secured $11.7m in a series A round featuring corporate investors Omron, Toyota, Mitsubishi Electric and Hyundai Motor.
The round was led by investment manager Sparx Asset Management and also featured venture capital firm Scrum Ventures and Duke Angel Network
Electronics manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric and carmaker Hyundai invested directly while fellow automotive manufacturer Toyota took part through Toyota AI Ventures and electronics producer Omron through its Omron Ventures subsidiary.
Founded in 2016, Realtime is working on motion-planning technology that will help robots and autonomous vehicles plot out their routes and plan their movements rapidly in real time. It will spend the cash on recruitment and commercialising its technology.
The company had previously received an undisclosed amount from research and manufacturing services provider Johnan in December 2018, having secured $2m from Toyota AI Ventures, Sparx Group and Scrum Ventures in late 2017.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
