Nauto makes a windshield‑mounted dual‑camera device with one camera facing inward to track driver behavior and another facing outward to monitor the road. The company processes that video in the cloud using deep learning and computer vision to provide insights and coaching to reduce distraction and fatigue. Its hardware is relatively inexpensive and installs easily on existing vehicles, enabling immediate deployment and telematics revenue today. Simultaneously, Nauto is building a large dataset of real‑world driving hours intended to support autonomous‑vehicle development. The company positions this dataset as a long‑term, potentially lucrative asset while continuing to sell safety and coaching services to fleet operators. The recent funding is intended to accelerate the pace of data gathering across its installed base. NAUTO builds camera-, motion sensor- and GPS-based systems combined with proprietary AI to detect events on the road and inside the cabin. Its platform includes cabin-facing and forward-facing cameras that automatically record when they sense a potential collision. Archived video is used by professional drivers to settle incidents with employers, insurers and police, and drivers can manually initiate recordings to alert fleet managers and stream live video. NAUTO’s systems are deployed by dozens of fleets that deliver packages, food, oil and gas and that provide taxi, limo and other passenger transport; Uber and Lyft drivers access NAUTO through drivers’ associations though NAUTO has not struck a corporate deal with a transportation network company. CEO Stefan Heck says the technology will improve as the company collects more miles and driver-behavior data, and NAUTO is building a dataset intended to help OEMs and partners develop next-generation autonomous capability for urban areas. Financially, NAUTO previously raised $12 million in Series A funding and has now secured an undisclosed Series A extension backed by strategic investors. Nauto builds an AI-driven safety and driver-monitoring system that combines dashcam image sensors, motion sensors, GPS, and cloud software to detect road hazards and in-vehicle distractions. Its retrofit hardware and software record incidents, store images and data in the cloud, and share reports via a mobile app for fleet managers and drivers. The company sells to commercial fleets today and runs pilots including City Wide Taxi in San Francisco and fleets across 23 cities internationally. Nauto collects driving data from deployments to analyze near-misses and accidents and to provide insights back to fleet operators and cities. Management positions the product as both an immediate fleet-safety solution and a stepping stone toward enabling true autonomy, with plans to evolve the systems into the "brains" for driverless cars. The company recently raised $12 million in a Series A to ramp up manufacturing, commercial deployments with fleets and cities, and develop next-generation products.

Total raised

$171M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Jul 2017