Bhopal-based startup Swaayatt Robots has lately announced to have secured $4 million from US investors and with the influx of fresh capital its valuation is at $151 million. The funding is supposed to be a significant milestone for the company. It will be now more dedicated in the development of autonomous vehicle technology.
Swaayatt Robots is led by Sanjeev Sharma and the company has demonstrated remarkable progress with just a fraction of its earlier $3 million funding.
Sharma shared the ambitious plans of the company that mainly aims to solve Level Four Autonomy by the end of the year worldwide. They need to raise about $1.5 billion to achieve it. Its major demo is scheduled for August is said to capture attention of industry leaders like Sam Altman and Elon Musk.
Swaayatt Robots claimed earlier this year to have achieved Level 5 Autonomy, which showcase the ability of its vehicles in navigating through construction sites.
One of its standout demonstrations was in autonomous vehicle that successfully negotiated piles of soil and rocks on the road. It also simultaneously made precise 90-degree turns at unmanaged intersections. The demo highlighted the ability to address such challenges which are still being faced by companies like Tesla and Waymo. The company enabled its vehicles last year to handle bidirectional traffic on single-lane roads at 44 kilometers per hour. It is learned the speed may be increased to 60 kilometers per hour.
Swaayatt Robots is yet to sell the technology commercially. The company is basically focusing on research and development. It is conducting demos primarily with Mahindra Bolero vehicles and has plans to integrate autonomous systems into existing vehicles. It is targeting the military and autonomous trucking markets.
