Beep, a provider of multi-passenger, electric, autonomous mobility services, announced a concluded Series A-1 funding that raised $25M from investors. This funding follows a successful deployment and testing in over 20 public road routes across multiple states.
The funding was led by ABS Capital, with supporting participation from Intel Capital, Blue Lagoon Capital, TDF Ventures and Hidden Creek Management. It will enable Beep to further develop its autonomous software platform and advance its flagship public transit autonomous mobility service focused on first and last-mile transportation networks.
“We are thrilled to welcome ABS Capital and TDF Ventures into the Beep family as we continue to bring the vision of autonomous mobility to life with our Series A investment partners, Intel Capital and Blue Lagoon Capital. Our mission is to improve safety on the roads for everyone while positively impacting the environment and delivering mobility-for-all in our public and private communities. This new capital will enable us to further develop the solutions required to achieve this mission. ” stated Joe Moye, Beep CEO.
Autonomous vehicles impacting public mobility
There exists no doubt that autonomous vehicles are playing a leading role in shaping the future of mobility. Through steady technology progress, safety is improving.
Driverless vehicles in public transit will contribute to increased efficiency. With commuters inputting their drop off points, service providers can then work with real-time data on traffic, commuters’ data and other relevant data to deliver them with utmost trip efficiency.
Autonomous vehicles will also collect a lot of data which will enable correlation between peak commuters’ times and locations. They will also gather commuters’ data and use this all in AI-assisted decision making to determine vehicle placement and routing.
Such efficiencies will help reduce costs associated with hiring and owning a large fleet. Electrification and increased routing efficiency will reduce to fewer emissions, further catapulting public transport to the goal of net-zero.
The automotive industry has long been promising fully autonomous vehicles at Level 5 operation with no human input or guidance. The reality, however, is that the vehicles themselves and the infrastructure to support that level of autonomy in society aren’t quite there yet.
Early-stage with big ambitions
Beep’s approach, based on the realities of today’s technology and infrastructure, has been able to advance autonomous driving through controlled-speed autonomous mobility networks within geofenced areas, leveraging the very latest in sensor, camera and connected infrastructure technology to guarantee safety for commuters.
Advances in Beep’s software platform are aimed at achieving Level 4+ autonomous public transit.
Founded in 2018, Beep hopes to deliver the next generation of mobility services utilizing driverless, electric, multi-passenger vehicles. The company has proceeded to safely advance the testing of autonomous shuttles for public and private sectors while working closely with the National Highway Traffic Administration and its autonomous vehicle testing program.
New partnerships for Beep
This latest funding round follows a strategic collaboration announcement, in February, with Intel’s Mobileye and Benteler to develop and deploy automotive-grade, fully electric, autonomous vehicles for public and private communities by 2024 across North America, aiming at first and last-mile use cases. The purpose-built autonomous vehicle from Benteler EV Systems will be supported by Mobileye’s industry-leading self-driving system, Mobileye Drive, and underpinned by Beep’s proven deployment and operations systems, technology and services.
In addition to establishing partnerships with communities such as Lake Nona in Orlando, Florida, Tradition in Port St. Lucie, Florida and the City of Peachtree Corners, Georgia, Beep is collaborating with many more municipalities and transit authorities to enhance access to main corridors in underserved and urban areas. Just recently, Beep and the Vision 2 Reality (V2R) Team were awarded the country’s largest-ever public sector autonomous shuttle project with the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s Ultimate Urban Circulator Project. The first phase of the project will implement a fleet of self-driving shuttles in downtown Jacksonville.
Laying the foundation for the future of public mobility
Beep takes a safety centric approach to public mobility and has done rigorous testing in multiple cities in different states, gathering a proven record of delivering turn-key autonomous urban mobility services. Its existing implementations on public roads allow them to take real-world data to improve vehicle perception of the environment and develop new technologies that will ultimately elevate future safety and extended use of these important platforms.
“Beep has only existed for three years and is already a leader in the autonomous shuttle category. The Company has an opportunity to grow its existing services and use its operational experience and data to build unique software solutions that provide material upside opportunities. ABS Capital was drawn to Beep’s recent partnerships and growth initiatives. We are excited to be a part of Beep’s rapid growth.” commented Jennifer Krusius of ABS Capital.
