British city simulator start-up raises $4.6m as investors plough billions into self-driving cars

A British business which creates virtual models of cities to help train driverless cars has raised $4.6m (£3.6m) in funding.

Milton Keynes-based Immense Simulations has developed technology which uses artificial intelligence and simulations to create detailed models of cities which can be used by car companies and transport businesses to understand how commuters get around.

The investment was led by Amadeus Capital Partners, with participation from Japanese funds Global Brain Corporation and 31 Ventures.

Another British simulation start-up, Improbable, raised $500m in investment from Japanese investor SoftBank’s Vision Fund in 2017. Amadeus Capital Partners, the lead investor in Immense Simulations’ new funding round, is also an early backer of Improbable.

Immense Simulations has partnered with taxi firm Addison Lee and self-driving car software business Oxbotica on a project that is aiming to launch a self-driving taxi service in London by 2021.

The company has created virtual simulations of cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Oxford, and Cambridge.

It has also launched research and development partnerships with carmakers Ford and Jaguar Land Rover, along with Bosch and Improbable.

Investors have rushed to back self-driving car businesses as regulations permitting testing on public roads in the US and UK has been introduced, signalling that the introduction of the technology may be forthcoming.

CB Insights data shows that companies operating in the autonomous vehicle area have raised $3.1bn so far this year.

Immense Simulations chief executive Robin North said that “mobility is changing fast but transport decision-making is slow and expensive, based on poor data.”

“Immense is challenging these outdated methods through our cutting-edge, cloud-hosted simulation platform,” he said.

“With the backing of investors such as Amadeus with expertise in the mobility software sector, and the international perspective of Global Brain, we can capture the growing market for intelligent transport solutions.”