42dot, a South Korea-based autonomous Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) startup, announced today it has raised $88.5 million (104 billion WON) in a Series A round of funding to advance its urban mobility operating system (UMOS).
The startups have raised $130.1 million so far with the Series A. According to a source familiar, the company's valuation now stands at $425 million (500 Billion WON). 42dot spokesperson declined to comment on valuation.
Shinhan Financial Group and Lotte Rental participated in the latest round of funding. They included STIC Ventures (We Ventures), Shinhan Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Shinhan Financial Group, Shinhan Rental, Lotte Ventures and Lotte Ventures. The Series A round also saw participation from returning backers, although the spokesperson didn't provide any details. In September 2019, South Korea's largest conglomerates, including Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, LG Electronics and SK Telecom, invested $42 million in the preSeries A company.
The company, which is based in Seoul, will use the funds to further its AI-based technology and establish joint ventures. It also plans to hire staff. According to a spokesperson, it has 200 employees at the time of writing. According to the company's statement, it plans to expand its business by investing and M&A. 42dot and Shinhan Capital, a South Korean financial company, signed a memorandum d'accord (MOU) in July to create a mobile financial service.
42dot was established in 2019 by Chang-Hyeon Song (CEO and co-founder) who is also the Head of TaaS at Hyundai Motors. The South Korean automaker established a TaaS division in April to help it improve its mobility strategies.
The autonomous driving software and hardware solution for lidar-free self-driving, AKit was developed by the company. It uses just two types of sensors, cameras and imaging sensor radar, to sense the environment around the vehicle.
42dot also created an autonomous mobility/logistics platform called "TAP!" that offers a variety of services including ride-hailing and fleet management, demand-responsive transportation, smart logistics, and smart logistics.
Akit! and TAP! are the core solutions of the company. They will be commercialized in 2023. According to the spokesperson, its clients will be primarily autonomous vehicle manufacturers and mobility platform operators.
Future cities will operate under federated, fully autonomous, self managing, self-healing logistics infrastructure and transportation infrastructure. Chang stated in the press kit that the new infrastructure will make it easier and more cost-effective to move goods and people.
