Finnish startups invest 8m euros to target autonomous vehicles in bad weather

After the Spanish company for vehicles and multimobility Cabify received a loan of 40 million euros from European Investment Bank (EIB) for its fleet decarbonisation project last week alone, the Finnish autonomous driving technology company Sensible 4 received a € 8 million loan from the EIB. Funding will allow the platform to further develop its software, which allows vehicles to operate in the most difficult weather conditions, including snow, heavy rain, fog and sandstorms.

The startup previously won $ 7 million in Serie A funding in 2020.

The EIB is investing heavily in the automotive industry and in the necessary charging infrastructure to improve the supply of zero-emission urban mobility in cities. Autonomous driving contributes to sustainable transport by reducing the number of road accidents and carbon dioxide and pollutant emissions. It also provides a solution to the shortage of public transport and logistics drivers in Europe.

Speaking of funding, Harry Santamala, CEO of Sensible 4 said: “The EIB sees the potential in our technology and finances us at this early stage. The money helped us finalize our core product and will now help us continue the pre-production with our non-exclusive mass production partners. “

Self-driving vehicles also offer a solution to Europe’s acute driver shortage. Expanding public transport and increasing logistics will require even more drivers, and a self-driving fleet with remote operations is a great way to solve this problem, he added. According to the company, the first Sensible 4 product is ready for pre-production.

According to the EIB Vice President Thomas Ostros, the automotive industry, including autonomous driving, is undergoing a radical transformation revolution with high potential to reduce the carbon footprint of transport. “Our funding for Sensible 4 will help him deal with the widely recognized problem of autonomous operations in bad weather.