Autonomous Navigation has a Bright Future
Momenta is proud to announce its investment in Fixposition, a cutting-edge Swiss technology company enabling centimeter-level positioning in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) degraded and denied environments.
Momenta joined the $5.95m investment round, which includes previous backers True Ventures, Hasler Stiftung, along with new investors MiraclePlus (former YC China), Cultivation Capital, and G&M Capital.
Fixposition’s goal is to make high-precision positioning accessible to all and enable the autonomous robot revolution. CEO Zhenzhong Su says “We are excited to welcome Momenta as partners in our journey. With the new funding, we will bring our next-generation product into production, execute our market strategy, and expand through strategic partnerships in the space of autonomous navigation."
Analysts predict the autonomous vehicle market will grow at 60% CAGR over the next decade. Vehicles ranging from automobiles and trucks to entirely new types of vehicles will soon support both human-augmented and fully autonomous modes. This will require precise data on the location of the vehicle. In autonomous passenger-vehicle solutions, companies have used Lidar to understand the environment around a vehicle and maintain the vehicle's course. The cost of Lidar, however, is prohibitive for most smaller autonomous vehicles. Early unicorn-level startups in this space include Ouster, Aeye, and Velodyne Lidar.
Michael Dolbec, Managing Partner for Momenta, states, "The market for autonomy is accelerating and expanding. Warehouse, retail, and agricultural solutions are all on the rise. The acquisitions of Raven Industries by CNHi and Bear Flag Robotics by John Deere, in particular, highlight the strategic importance of autonomy and reinforce Momenta's belief that precise navigation is a critical enabling technology."
Autonomous delivery vehicles widely use GNSS signals with real-time kinematic positioning (RTK) technology to get precise global localization. However, this is often unreliable in areas where these GNSS signals are impeded, like urban canyons, under bridges, near trees, or even next to hills. Fixposition uses its innovative deep sensor fusion technology to enable reliable and cost-effective high-precision positioning to be maintained in all environments. This is already powering robotics companies such as Neolix and PIX Moving.
Jash Bansidhar, Managing Director of Advantech Europe & AVP of Industrial IoT at Advantech, states, "Advantech views autonomous vehicles as a growing market beyond passenger-vehicles. Fixposition has created a unique technology that unlocks new opportunities in this space. Together, we believe, these technologies will pave the way towards the democratization of autonomous applications."
This is the second investment from Momenta’s AIoT Ecosystem Fund launched in partnership with Advantech, the global leader in IoT intelligent systems and embedded platforms. Aimed at early growth stage companies at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT), the fund delivers venture capital investment and direct value-creation to innovators in North America and Europe.
About Fixposition
Fixposition is on a mission to simplify autonomous navigation by increasing the reliability and availability of precise positioning. The company develops deep sensor fusion of RTK-GNSS, IMU, and computer vision to ensure high reliability of centimeter-accurate positioning in all types of environments, even where other systems fail. This technology enables new players to participate in the autonomous robot market and expands the operational opportunities of autonomous robots. Fixposition was founded by two entrepreneurial ETHZ (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich) graduates, one hailing from China, the other from Switzerland, and began as an ETH Spin-Off. The combination of one’s high-precision GNSS expertise and the other’s extensive computer vision know-how has resulted in a synergistic coming together of technologies. The team is further strengthened by the joint force of veteran experts from other well-established players such as u-blox and ZF, along with a strong team of budding engineers from various corners of the world. Fixposition aims to make an impact and drive the democratization of autonomous solutions. For more information, visit www.fixposition.com.
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Momenta is the leading Digital Industry venture capital firm accelerating deep tech and digital innovators across energy, manufacturing, smart spaces, and supply chain. Led by deep industry operators across its venture capital, strategic advisory, and executive search practices, Momenta has made over 50 investments with notable exits to SAP and PTC.
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