Dutchy Ron schreef op 15 juli 2021 11:42:
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email
licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found at
www.ft.com/tour. https://www.ft.com/content/814a11fe-de45-4ca5-be29-7f0993f43afe
New York-based Carmera is the second acquisition by Woven Planet following its $550m takeover of Lyft’s autonomous driving unit in April. Backed by the war chest of the world’s biggest carmaker, the Toyota subsidiary said it would “go big” to establish its global footprint in software.
While the acquisition price for Carmera was not disclosed, the deal alongside that for Lyft will expand Woven Planet’s 860 workforce to more than 1,200.
“I’m looking to double or quadruple Woven Planet in the next couple of years,” James Kuffner, the head of the unit who also sits on Toyota’s board as chief digital officer, said in an interview.
“That means we are going to be aggressively hiring, acquiring, doing partnerships and, where it makes sense, bringing in companies to the Woven Planet group that are complementary and strategic,” he added.
Created in 2015, Carmera was valued at $120m after it raised $20m in a Series B funding led by Google’s venture arm GV in 2018, according to Pitchbook.
Carmakers and technology groups are competing to develop accurate and real-time digital mapping technologies, which are considered critical for the expansion of self-driving cars.www.ft.com/content/814a11fe-de45-4ca5...