Drover AI Secures $5.4M Series A Led by Vektor Partners to Scale its Innovative Applications of Computer Vision in Micromobility

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Aug 02, 2022, 00:00 ET

Drover AI has pioneered the use of onboard computer vision and machine learning in the large and growing micromobility sector, enabling enhanced safety and regulatory compliance while also offering opportunities to explore added value from unique insights created by its data.
Drover AI's technology is the first company deployed at scale on over 5,000 shared scooters across 3 continents with industry leading operators like Spin (owned by Tier), Voi, Beam, Dott, and Helbiz,
Drover AI will use the funds to scale the delivery on existing orders, and accelerate the integration of its new PathPilot Lite technology with vehicle and IoT manufacturers for next-gen micromobility vehicles.

BIG SKY, Mont., Aug. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Drover AI announces that it has closed on a $5.4M Series A funding round, led by Vektor Partners and with follow-on participation from Seed investors including Avesta Fund, Masik Enterprises and Kurt Jaggers. They join existing investor 500 Global to support the scale up of its innovative solutions for computer vision and artificial intelligence in micromobility.

E-scooter equipped with Drover AI's PathPilot

Drover AI has pioneered the use of onboard computer vision (CV) and machine learning (ML) in the micromobility sector with its first product, the PathPilot. The initial application has enabled enhanced safety and regulatory compliance due to PathPilot's ability to do what no other technology can do reliably to date - detect sidewalks, streets and bike lanes while moving and validate proper parking compliance at the end of rides. Edge-based CV/ML not only provides unprecedented real-time contextual location awareness, but also presents opportunities to explore added value for cities and operators from unique insights created by vision based data collected from mobile assets.

"We are very fortunate to have secured the support of Vektor Partners on our mission to leverage computer vision and artificial intelligence for the benefit and long term success of micromobility," said Christian Scheder-Bieschin, co-founder and CEO of Drover AI. "The team at Vektor contributes genuine strategic knowledge of the mobility space as well as an understanding of the huge potential value that exists in harvesting vision-based data from fleets of micromobility vehicles."

"Micromobility is a big market, and it will continue to grow rapidly throughout this decade. Drover's technology solves various pain points for cities, micromobility operators, and riders simultaneously, helping make urban transportation safer and cleaner while at the same time unlocking significant economic value by reducing cost and enabling new business models," said Chris Riley, Partner and Co-Founder at Vektor Partners. "Working closely together with cities has hereby become a crucial element in establishing sustainable micromobility service offerings. We are very excited to be able to support the Drover team on this journey."

Since its founding in early 2020, Drover AI has wasted no time in proving out their technology and to establish itself as the leader in the space, with currently over 5,000 PathPilot units in operation on shared scooters across the US, EU and Asia with industry leading operators like Spin (owned by Tier), Voi, Bolt, Beam, Dott, and Helbiz. Drover partners have used PathPilot technology to differentiate their capabilities from more traditional positioning and tracking solutions, while cities have also welcomed the enhanced safety and regulatory compliance enabled by the ground breaking technology. As awareness of this technology grows with various stakeholders, Drover is capitalizing on the opportunity to integrate its technology more deeply with vehicle and IoT module manufacturers for future iterations of micromobility vehicles.

"The response to our technology and the subsequent demand we have seen from the market far surpasses any of our own early assumptions," shared Alex Nesic, co-founder of Drover. "Not only do we have continued interest from shared scooter operators across Europe and Asia, we are also involved with manufacturers of all types of micromobility form factors, with interest to incorporate our proprietary CV/ML technology to meet growing rider and pedestrian safety initiatives," added Alex.

"With real fleet deployment of our PathPilot technology, we are also beginning to assess the opportunities for the significant amount of unique urban data that we capture and harvest, including how to best work with cities and other stakeholders to facilitate smart city initiatives," noted Christian Scheder-Bieschin. "Never before has there been such a scalable and sustainable way to measure and more effectively leverage this form of urban transportation for the better good."

About Drover AI

Drover specializes in advanced AI-based IoT solutions for last-mile transportation designed to elevate the performance of fleets while exceeding the regulatory requirements of the cities that host them. Drover's product, PathPilot, delivers cost-effective granular infrastructure distinction even in the absence of often unreliable GPS data allowing for unparalleled location awareness and the ability to take corresponding actions. Drover enables a safe and intelligent experience through technology in order to help ensure the long-term success of micromobility as a sustainable and integral part of urban transportation.

About Vektor Partners

At Vektor Partners we invest in the mobility revolution. The world of transportation is undergoing dramatic changes – we partner with company founders that lead these changes. From London, Palo Alto and Berlin, we are perfectly positioned to invest in a new generation of founders that will transform technology for the mobility sector in the 21st century.

Visit: www.vektorpartners.com

For more information:
Visit: www.drover.ai
Email: [email protected]

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SOURCE Vektor Partners