The Venn diagram of engineers who know a little about AI, self-guidance and mining have a small junction. Pronto.ai Anthony Levandowski’s chief executive wants as many of these people as possible. And an acquisition helps him achieve this goal.
San Francisco-based starting, which has developed a self-guidance system designed for transport trucks and other off-road vehicles used in construction and mining, has acquired the Safeai competitor, Techcrunch has learned.
The terms of the agreement have not been revealed. However, Levandowski said acquisition is a talent and technological game. Most of the small mechanical team of 12 people and its IP will come to Pronto. A source familiar with the agreement said that the Safeai acquisition price was in “millions”.
“In the stand -alone transport system, there are really two players – it’s safe and we,” Levandowski said in a recent interview, adding that Safeai and Pronto have received different market approaches. “We’ve grown up a tone and need to add more people and resources to the team, so it was reasonable to buy them … to have more wood behind fewer arrows so we can grow up faster.”
Pronto, co -founded with Ognen Stojanovski in 2018, uses advanced sensors, cameras and artificial intelligence to operate autonomous trucks. Pronto also uses Pollen Mobile, a mobile network from Peer-to-Peer Open Source, the starting start in 2022, which allows it to exchange data anonymously and at high speeds without relying on old-fashioned carriers. Pollen is used to support websites with little or no connectivity.
Pronto has kept its team quite lean in about 40 people. Safeai acquisition will help Pronto serve more customers, including internationally, Levandowski said. Last year, Pronto expanded a partnership with Heidelberg Materials North America, one of the largest cement materials and producers in the world, following a pilot program at the company’s Quarthport in Texas. Pronto’s technology is incorporated into the Komatsu transport trucks, which operate autonomously in the area.
Earlier this year, Pronto announced agreement with Heidelberg Develop more than 100 stand -alone trucks and extend its team to Brazil.
The acquisition will also allow Pronto to meet a variety of needs from small quarries in large mines.
Specifically, the acquisition will allow Pronto to provide customers with a gradual technology portfolio. Pronto is known for approaching the camera only. Safeai, founded in 2017 and raised $ 38 million in a B Series funding three years ago, uses multiple sensors, vehicles, radar and Lidar cameras. Pronto plans to offer multiple sensor approach as well as use the Safeai security framework certified by Asil D, the highest level of security integrity in the industry.
