Apex.AI raises $56.5 million for autonomous vehicle software

Apex.AI, a developer of software for autonomous driving applications, raised $56.5 million in Series B funding. In total, Apex. AI has raised $74 million since it was founded in 2017.

Apex.AI’s Apex.OS is an end-to-end operating system that can be used in a variety of applications, including autonomous cars, semi-trucks and construction equipment. It is designed to ease and speed software development for autonomous vehicles. The system is based on ROS 2 and won an RBR50 Robotics Innovation Award in 2020.

Apex.AI plans to use the funding to expand into new markets, such as agriculture, mining, industrial automation and Internet of Things. Currently, Apex.AI has four offices globally, in Palo Alto, California, Berlin, Munich, and Stuttgart, Germany. The company opened its Palo Alto and Stuttgart offices in the last year. Apex.AI plans to more than double its staff by hiring at all locations.

“Disruptions in mobility such as self-driving, connected vehicles, e-mobility and shared mobility all rely on software but lack a unified platform, which prevents integrated development across the vehicle,” said Jan Becker, CEO and co-founder. “We introduced Apex.OS as the first mobility software platform that can integrate across all in-vehicle domains and extend into the cloud to solve this challenge. We are experiencing an overwhelming demand for our product, and will use the Series B funds to scale our business to be able to serve more customers.”

The funding will also go towards helping the company expand into Asia. The expansion will be led by former Panasonic executive Tavis Szeto. Szeto joins the Apex.AI team as the vice president of Asia-Pacific.

Along with the funding, Apex.AI announced it added two new board members, Ahmed Sallam, partner at Orillion, and Paul Balciunas, chief financial officer at the Apex.AI.

“Advanced software has become critical to the success of the automotive industry as vehicles are now more complex than ever. Apex.AI has cornered a unique market by making it easier for manufacturers to implement safety-critical software into mobility systems,” said Sallam.

The funding round was led by Orillion, and included participation from ZF, Continental AG, AGCO, Canaan, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Airbus Ventures and InMotion Ventures, among others. ZF acquired a 5% stake in the company.

“We are proud that ZF, as one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world, will also offer software solutions based on Apex.OS,” said Jan Becker, CEO and Co-founder of Apex.AI. “We hope that this core software, which is a non-differentiating software for vehicle users, will become a standard in the automotive industry.”