The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Financial
    • Investments
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Earnings
  • Resources
    • Careers
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50 Winners 2022
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
    • Leave a voicemail

Autonomous vehicle startup Optimus Ride acquired by Magna

By Brianna Wessling | January 11, 2022

Listen to this article
Voiced by Amazon Polly
optimus ride

Optimus Ride’s autonomous shuttles are custom designed six door, six passenger vehicles. | Source: Optimus Ride

Magna International, a Canadian developer of car mobility technology, has acquired the technology, intellectual property, and other assets from Optimus Ride, a Boston-based company developing SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicles (AVs). Magna is adding more than 120 Optimus Ride employees to its team. The company plans to use their expertise to enhance its capabilities in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

Optimus Ride opened its doors in 2015 after spinning out of MIT. Its goal was to create shared, electric, neighborhood-friendly AVs. Its first prototype, a low-speed, electric, autonomous shuttle was unveiled in 2016. The employees from Optimus Ride will remain in Boston, creating a Boston-based engineering center for Magna. Optimus Ride will no longer operate as a company.

“Growing our engineering bench strength in sensing hardware and software helps accelerate our path forward in a rapidly growing ADAS market,” John O’Hara, president of Magna Electronics, said.

The Robot Report reached out to Optimus Ride co-founder Ryan Chin for more information. Chin’s LinkedIn profile currently lists him as co-founder and COO of Tram Global, as well as his Optimus Ride duties. If we learn more, we’ll update this article.

In 2017, Optimus Ride began testing its vehicles on the streets of Boston with early MassDOT AV approval. The next year it launched its inaugural pilot program for residential community mobility at Union Point in Weymouth, Massachusetts.

The company launched mobility services in Virginia and New York in 2019. In 2020, in response to the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Optimus Ride repurposed its fleets to deliver over 6,000 free meals to those in need in Washington D.C.

In July 2021, the company was awarded $4.3 million by the Department of Energy to deploy its autonomous fleets and conduct AV research with Clemson University, UC Berkeley and Argonne National Labs.

According to Sean Harrington, CEO of Optimus Ride, the acquisition of Optimus Ride’s employees is part of a larger deal that includes the company’s assets, technology and underlying intellectual property.

Magna’s global network includes 347 manufacturing operations as well as 90 product development, engineering and sales centers in 28 countries.

About The Author

Brianna Wessling

Brianna Wessling is an Associate Editor, Robotics, WTWH Media. She joined WTWH Media in November 2021, and is a recent graduate from the University of Kansas. She can be reached at [email protected]

Comments

  1. Ralph Panhuyzen says

    January 27, 2022 at 11:13 am

    Interesting! So Optimus Ride succeeded in securing long-term development where Local Motors failed. Would very much like to know the difference between the two then…

    Reply

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles Read More >

Eureka Robotics brings in $4.5M in pre-Series A funding
Dusty Robotics raises $45M Series B round
flexx reference
Flexxbotics brings in $2.9M in Series A funding
apex.ai car
Apex.AI receives strategic investment from Daimler Truck

2021 Robotics Handbook

The Robot Report Listing Database

Latest Robotics News

Robot Report Podcast

Agility Robotics gets a boost from Amazon; The US Alliance of Robotics Clusters is born
See More >

Sponsored Content

  • Meet Trey, the autonomous trailer (un)loading forklift
  • Kinova Robotics launches Link 6, the first Canadian industrial collaborative robot
  • Torque sensors help make human/robot collaborations safer for workers
  • Roller screws unlock peak performance in robotic applications
  • Making the ROS development cycle manageable

RBR50 Innovation Awards

Leave us a voicemail

The Robot Report
  • Mobile Robot Guide
  • Collaborative Robotics Trends
  • Field Robotics Forum
  • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
  • RoboBusiness Event
  • Robotics Business Review
  • Robotics Summit & Expo
  • About The Robot Report
  • Subscribe
  • Advertising
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search The Robot Report

  • Home
  • News
  • Technologies
    • Batteries / Power Supplies
    • Cameras / Imaging / Vision
    • Controllers
    • End Effectors
    • Microprocessors / SoCs
    • Motion Control
    • Sensors
    • Soft Robotics
    • Software / Simulation
  • Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Human Robot Interaction / Haptics
    • Mobility / Navigation
    • Research
  • Robots
    • AGVs
    • AMRs
    • Consumer
    • Collaborative Robots
    • Drones
    • Exoskeletons
    • Industrial
    • Self-Driving Vehicles
    • Unmanned Maritime Systems
  • Markets
    • Agriculture
    • Healthcare
    • Logistics
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Security
  • Financial
    • Investments
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Earnings
  • Resources
    • Careers
    • COVID-19
    • Digital Issues
    • Publications
      • Collaborative Robotics Trends
      • Robotics Business Review
    • RBR50 Winners 2022
    • Search Robotics Database
    • Videos
    • Webinars / Digital Events
  • Events
    • RoboBusiness
    • Robotics Summit & Expo
    • Healthcare Robotics Engineering Forum
    • DeviceTalks
    • R&D 100
    • Robotics Weeks
  • Podcast
    • Episodes
    • Leave a voicemail