Deep tech startup Tier IV secures $9 million to develop autoware-integrated ECUs for autonomous driving

Back in July 2019, we wrote about Tier IV when the an open-source self-driving startup based in Japan raised “over $100 million” in a massive Series A funding round led by Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance to to use the new capital to facilitate commercialization of self-driving technology in private, depopulated and urban areas.

Today, Tier IV announced it has raised about $9 million in Series A funding extension to develop a new reference model of electronic control units (ECUs) for autonomous driving. The round, which was led by Quanta Computer, follows  the previous $100+ million Series A funding. As part of the Series A funding extension, the Tier IV will collaborate with Quanta Computer to develop the ECUs.

Founded in December 2015, Tier IV has led the development of open-source software for self-driving technology, also known as Autoware, and applied it for the proof of concept of last-mile driverless mobility and logistics. Tier IV aspires to achieve “Democratization of Intelligent Vehicles”, where any individuals and organizations can contribute to a grander vision of future intelligent vehicles, leading to a better society in which all the people receive new spatio-temporal values. Tier IV is a federated academic startup embracing research and development of intelligent vehicles.

The current state of the art in autonomous driving requires low-power and high-performance ECUs with functional safety features. The strategic collaboration of Quanta Computer and Tier IV will discover a desired specification for those ECUs as a reference model based on the best practice integration of Autoware, a full-stack open-source software platform for autonomous driving. Quanta Computer has already developed a prototype of Autoware-integrated ECUs and conducted a field test using a real vehicle in cooperation with Tier IV. This core offering of Autoware-integrated ECUs will support key initiatives in production of multiple levels of autonomous driving.

Quanta Computer is a Fortune Global 500 Companies and the world’s leading provider for notebook computers and other technology products. Quanta provides innovative products with superior technology that range from information, communication, networking, consumer electronics, and car electronics to cloud computing infrastructure solution. Founded in 1988, Quanta Computer is headquartered in Taiwan with major operation facilities set up in Asia, Canada, North America, South America, and Europe. Quanta Group currently employs over 90,000 employees worldwide with consolidated revenues amounted to US$34 billion for fiscal year 2018.