• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Investors Are Pouring Millions Into a Startup That Could Speed the Development of Self-Driving Cars

By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Kirsten Korosec
Kirsten Korosec
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 19, 2017, 2:13 AM ET
Courtesy of Nauto

Nauto, the automotive tech startup that uses a combination of artificial intelligence, cameras, motion sensors, and GPS to understand and improve driver behavior, has raised $159 million from a diverse group of investors that includes General Motors, venture capital firm Greylock Partners, and the Softbank Group Corp.

Greylock Partners and Softbank led this Series B financing round. Reid Hoffman, a partner at Greylock (and a co-founder of LinkedIn), will also be appointed to Nauto’s board along with Softbank partner Shu Nyatta. They join existing board members Nauto CEO Stefan Heck, auto industry veteran Karen Francis of Ford and GM, and Bruce Leak of Playground Global.

BMW iVentures, General Motors Ventures, Toyota AI Ventures and the venture unit of insurer Allianz Group, Playground Global, and Draper Nexus also participated in the round.

Nauto has developed aftermarket inward- and outward-facing cameras that attach to the windshield of vehicles. The system captures video and processes the abundant amount of data it collects in real-time and then provides personalized feedback to fleets and their drivers, to help reduce collisions.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

But Nauto has a broader vision for its technology, which has attracted the interest and investment from automakers. Nauto believes the path to autonomous vehicles can be accelerated using its system.

And automakers are already signing on. Allianz, BMW, and Toyota have already agreed to integrate Nauto’s technology into their test vehicles.

The idea is use advanced computer vision and machine learning to collect data on driver behavior as well as on road and safety conditions like dangerous intersections and traffic patterns. That data is then aggregated and anonymized to help understand how people drive. It can help a fleet manager discover trends. But more importantly, the data can be used to model and train the autonomous systems in self-driving cars.

For more on self-driving cars, see Fortune’s video:

“The learnings Nauto is gaining at scale from millions of professional drivers will help pave the way for autonomy by understanding how good drivers collaborate, adjust to circumstances and even—at times—break the letter of the law to be safe,” Hoffman wrote in a post on Medium.

Nauto says it plans to use these latest funds to scale the deployment of its product. Nauto, which has 50 employees, will use funds to hire more talent and expand into Japan and the UK, the company said.

About the Author
By Kirsten Korosec
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in

vonn
LawSports
Lindsey Vonn’s big crash is the moment millennial nostalgia hit its limit—and symbolizes a broader reality of moving goalposts
By Nick Lichtenberg and Ashley LutzFebruary 9, 2026
40 minutes ago
A memorial for Nancy Guthrie
PoliticsCrime
Savannah Guthrie pleads ‘we will pay’ as search for her missing mother continues after a week
By Ty O'Neil and The Associated PressFebruary 9, 2026
2 hours ago
Eddie Bauer
RetailRetail
Eddie Bauer’s retail operator declares bankruptcy as younger shoppers view the brand as ‘old-fashioned and a bit irrelevant’
By Anne D'Innocenzio and The Associated PressFebruary 9, 2026
2 hours ago
Personal FinanceSavings
Best money market accounts of February 2026
By Glen Luke FlanaganFebruary 9, 2026
2 hours ago
CryptoDonald Trump
The Trump family’s crypto portfolio is getting battered with the rest of the industry—but Melania’s memecoin has fared surprisingly well
By Ben WeissFebruary 9, 2026
3 hours ago
SuccessMost Powerful Women
Jennifer Garner’s Once Upon a Farm IPO jumps 40% as the company raises $198 million
By Emma HinchliffeFebruary 9, 2026
3 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Elon Musk warns the U.S. is '1,000% going to go bankrupt' unless AI and robotics save the economy from crushing debt
By Jason MaFebruary 7, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
China might be beginning to back away from U.S. debt as investors get nervous about overexposure to American assets
By Eleanor PringleFebruary 9, 2026
12 hours ago
placeholder alt text
AI
As billionaires bail, Mark Zuckerberg doubles down on California with $50 million donation
By Sydney LakeFebruary 9, 2026
7 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Russian officials are warning Putin that a financial crisis could arrive this summer, report says, while his war on Ukraine becomes too big to fail
By Jason MaFebruary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Commentary
America marks its 250th birthday with a fading dream—the first time that younger generations will make less than their parents
By Mark Robert Rank and The ConversationFebruary 8, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
Meet Jody Allen, the billionaire owner of the Seattle Seahawks, who plans to sell the team and donate the proceeds to charity
By Jake AngeloFebruary 9, 2026
4 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.