The MIT spinoff firm Optimus Ride, focused on the development of self-driving vehicle tech, recently closed an $18 million Series A funding round led by Greycroft Partners and accompanied by Emerson Collective, Fraser McCombs Capital, and the director of MIT Media Lab, Joi Ito.
Altogether, Optimus Ride has now raised a total of $23.25 million — through two separate financing rounds. The plan is reportedly to use this collective capital to scale up its self-driving vehicle testing fleet, and to make various “strategic hires.”
“Autonomy is currently revolutionizing the transportation industry,” commented John Elton, a partner at Greycroft. “The changes will impact not only transportation users’ free time, but the broader world with a safer, more environmentally friendly and inclusive transportation system. Greycroft is thrilled to partner with the Optimus Ride team. They are a diverse group that combines the top technical talent in computer vision and machine learning with expertise in urban design.”
The CEO of Optimus Ride, Ryan Chin, commented on the news: “My colleagues and I are extremely proud of what we have accomplished to date, and recognize that the industry is just scratching the surface of the powerful long-term benefits of driverless vehicles. Having the financial backing and guidance of Greycroft and our other venture partners will help us to harness our passion and execute our ultimate vision even more rapidly.”
This news follows not too long after (a couple of months after) the announcement that MassDOT had granted Optimus Ride approval to begin testing “highly automated” self-driving vehicles in Massachusetts. The company also around that time signed a memorandum of understanding with the City of Boston to agree to allow testing on public roads and property within the city — with initial testing to begin in Raymond L Flynn Marine Park.
