Seoul Robotics Raises $25M to Guide Vehicles Using Infrastructure Sensors
Seoul Robotics secures $25 million in Series B funding for its unique platform that uses surrounding infrastructure sensors to control autonomous vehicles instead of onboard hardware. The technology is already in use by major automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Seoul Robotics takes a unique approach to autonomous driving by using surrounding infrastructure instead of embedded vehicle sensors to guide cars. The company raises $25 million in a Series B funding round led by KB Investment to advance this contrarian technology. By outfitting parking lots and roads with cameras and lidar, the platform controls vehicles externally rather than requiring expensive internal hardware.
The company achieves this through its Level 5 Control Tower (LV5 CTRL TWR) and Sensr software, which gather environmental data from nearby sensors and the cloud to maneuver vehicles safely. This "autonomy through infrastructure" (ATI) system uses existing vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication and advanced driver assistance systems to manage functions like lane-keeping and braking. As a result, a facility automates millions of passing cars using only a few hundred strategically placed sensors.
Major automotive manufacturers already embrace this infrastructure-based model, with BMW deploying the technology for a pilot program involving the new BMW 7 Series and the fully electric i7. Seoul Robotics currently partners with global giants including Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Qualcomm, and LG Uplus, and actively discusses potential collaborations with nine additional original equipment manufacturers to expand its reach across the industry.