Faction is a Silicon Valley startup that develops driverless solutions based on light electric vehicles, combining autonomy with remote human teleoperation to productize driverless systems before full autonomy. The company has demonstrated prototype and pre-production vehicle systems and is partnering with manufacturers of light electric vehicles to scale operational driverless fleets. Faction targets urban use cases with trips typically under five miles, aiming to right-size vehicles for short trips to improve efficiency, reduce emissions, and lower costs. The company says its engineering approach starts from the chassis up to enable faster incorporation of new technologies. Faction announced an investment from TDK Ventures following a $4.3M seed round led by Trucks Venture Capital and Fifty Years after participating in Y Combinator’s Winter 2021 batch. Founded in February 2020 and based in South San Francisco, the company is positioning itself to advance micro-logistics and vehicle-on-demand offerings. Faction designs and builds a three-wheel, motorcycle-class electric vehicle platform for driverless delivery and human‑operated rentals. The company has built prototypes and a digital vehicle architecture that pairs autonomy with a teleoperation system and safety features that intervene if autonomous systems fail. Faction is developing the chassis from the ground up to reduce cost versus full automobile programs; the vehicle costs about $30,000 and McKendrick says it has a two‑year payback period. The vehicles are motorcycle‑class, legal for city streets and highways while avoiding some passenger vehicle requirements. The startup envisions fleets used for micro‑logistics deliveries (charged per mile) and rentable rider trips (potentially charged by the hour), with different canopy designs for delivery versus passenger use. The team (~10 people) graduated from Y Combinator and plans partnerships with light EV manufacturers to scale and begin customer trials later this year, targeting a roughly 50‑vehicle micro‑logistics pilot and early rider trials by Q4.

Total raised

$4M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Seed

Latest activity

Jun 2021