Forterra Raises $75 Million in Oversubscribed Series B Funding to Accelerate Self-Driving Technology for Defense and Industry

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Sep 10, 2024, 08:30 ET

CLARKSBURG, Md., Sept. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Forterra, a leading self-driving technology company, today announced its $75 million Series B fundraise that was more than 2.5x oversubscribed. The round was led by Moore Strategic Ventures, XYZ Venture Capital, and Hedosophia, with participation from Standard Investments and existing investors, including Enlightenment Capital, Crescent Cove Advisors, and Four More Capital. The new funding will enable Forterra to accelerate and scale the deployment of their autonomous driving system (ADS), AutoDrive®, with defense and industrial customers.

"Forterra has proven that self-driving technology can be deployed today to solve real-world challenges in demanding environments," said Josh Araujo Forterra CEO. "We are committed to improving the lives and safety of soldiers, Marines, and industrial workers, by taking people out of harm's way with AutoDrive. This funding allows us to further develop, test, and deploy self-driving platforms with ever-increasing capabilities for both defense and industrial applications."

"We can't imagine a team better suited to take on these challenges — of everyone in the market, they have the right to win given their firsthand experience on the battlefield and interacting with government buyers," says Ross Fubini, Managing Partner of XYZ Venture Capital, which co-led this round. "They know exactly what these machines need to be capable of doing and have the acumen and connections to move fast and build the best solutions. We see a lot of defense tech at XYZ, and Forterra is uniquely set up for product-market fit."

Logan Ashcraft, Principal at Standard Investments, said "We believe in the potential for autonomous technology to disrupt many high-cost, low-margin business models. In its approach to both industrial and off-road autonomy, Forterra is setting a new standard for excellence across logistics, industry, and defense. We're excited to partner with the company in its next stage of growth."

The funding follows a series of significant milestones for Forterra over the past 12 months, including:

The first successful deployment of autonomous driving systems (ADS) on the first production program in the Department of Defense (DoD) - The Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary (ROGUE) Fires
A strategic partnership with Kalmar for production of self-driving yard trucks for global distribution

Forterra is actively delivering capabilities on these DoD ground autonomy programs, including:

The Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV)
The Ground Expeditionary Autonomous Retrofit System (GEARS)
The Small Multi-purpose Equipment Transport (SMET) with operational units

These efforts enable the DoD to scale logistics capabilities and firepower without adding people to combat units. The Forterra team is committed to continuing to build innovative self-driving systems that prioritize safety, efficiency and scale, and we are excited to continue this mission.

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For more information about Forterra, please visit www.forterra.com

SOURCE Forterra