Volvo invests in autonomous

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startup Apex.AI though its

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Darrell Etherington @etherington / 8:30 pm IST • December 5, 2019
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Volvo is making an investment in Palo Alto-based Apex.AI,
i a startup working on developing a robotic operating
system qualified for use in production automobiles. Apex.AI,
founded by automated systems engineers Jan Becker and
Dejan Pangercic, raised $15.5 million in a Series A last
November, and revealed that its focus is on developing an
enterprise-focused version of the Robot Operating System
open-source middleware.
Apex.AI currently lists two products on its home page:
Apex.OS and Apex.Autonomy. The former aims to provide a
set of simple-to-integrate APIs that can give automakers and
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others access to fully certified autonomous mobility
technology, while the latter is more focused on specific
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elements and components for those looking to make use of
specific elements of autonomous technology, including
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Volvo Group Venture Capital acting CEO Anna Westerberg,
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who is also the automaker’s SVP of Connected Solutions,
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said in a press release announcing theVideos
news that Volvo
Group is “excited to invest in a companyAudio
that enables easier
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development of safety-certified systems.” In providing
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systems that comply with industry-standard safety
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requirements, Apex.AI could potentially help speed the
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process of getting autonomous driving— systems into
production vehicles, across both its commercial
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consumer offerings. More

The financial details of the investment were not disclosed,

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with publicly traded Volvo Group saying only that it “has no
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significant impact” on the overall company’s “earnings or
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financial position,” which doesn’t mean much, except that it’s

not material enough to require a detailed disclosure just now.
That still could mean a lot of money coming in for Apex.AI,
given the relative yardstick of “material” for a huge
multinational automaker, and a two-year-old Silicon Valley
startup.