JLR’s InMotion adds $31m to Voyage for autonomous vehicles

Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital arm InMotion Ventures announces its follow-on investment today into autonomous vehicle manufacturer Voyage. The investment is part of a $31m (Rs 220 crore) Series B fundraiser, led by Franklin Templeton, with participation from Khosla Ventures and Chevron Technology Ventures – bringing its total capital raised to $52m (Rs 369 crore). Voyage will be using the fresh funding to bring its technology to commercialisation, grow its team, expand its fleet of G2 self-driving cars, and introduce its G3 self-driving car.

Founded in 2017, Voyage is developing autonomous vehicle technology for communities with limited transportation options available to them. The company’s first driverless product aims to ensure there’s always a viable option to move independently within a community, beginning with a self-driving car that can travel point-to-point within communities at speeds up to 25 mph (40kph). So far, the company has been trialling its products in retirement communities in California and Florida, with 4,000 and 125,000 residents respectively.

JLR claims that the company has been experiencing a phase of rapid growth since its inception, having grown its headcount by 300 percent since its Series A in January 2018. Its new hires including Drew Gray (ex-Uber ATG, Otto, Cruise, Tesla) as CTO, and Davide Bacchet (ex-NIO, Tesla) as Director of Autonomy. The company has also deployed its waitlist to communities containing over 1.1 million residents.

Sebastian Peck, managing director, InMotion ventures said, “Since investing in the company’s Series A in 2018, it’s been fantastic to watch the business go from strength to strength. The company has made some incredible hires which have been instrumental in enabling the development of Voyage’s state-of-the-art technology. We’re excited to continue working with Oliver Cameron and his world-class team at Voyage. They’ve shown us that they have the capability to quickly make self-driving, autonomous taxis in residential communities a reality, sooner than anyone would have thought.”