Netradyne raises $90M at $1.35B valuation to expand smart dashcams for commercial vessels


Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and a major reason why car insurance premiums expected to increase by 2025. For commercial ships, that’s a nightmare. But for California-based startup Netradyne, it’s a tailwind.

Netradyne provides fleet owners, incl big names like Amazonwith AI-enabled dashcams that collect vehicle data and video to improve driver safety, reducing accidents by nearly 50%, according to the company. The devices, which can be equipped with interior and exterior-facing cameras, also use edge computing to send drivers real-time notifications if they are distracted or driving dangerously, while rewarding those who driver for good behavior.

TechCrunch last reported on Netradyne’s $150 million Series C in 2021, and since then the company has expanded beyond North America and India and into Germany, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. To continue development in Ireland and Japan in the coming months, Netradyne recently raised a $90 million Series D at a pre-money valuation of $1.35 billion, led by Point72 Private Investments with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Pavilion Capital.

And with big expansion comes big data. Over the years, Netradyne has collected more than 18 billion miles worth of data, which the company says has helped improve the product to the point of 99% accuracy in alerts and 25 million better alerts. compliance mark.

Apart from global expansion, the fresh capital will go towards product improvement and go-to-market investments.

Now, fleets can access Netradyne’s Safety Manager Assistant, an AI-powered co-pilot that offers a natural language interface on the company’s portal and uses generative AI to have conversations about data and views. Avneesh Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of Netradyne, told TechCrunch that the company will invest more in generative AI, adding more use cases to its co-pilot and a more “agent approach.”

Agrawal also noted that Netradyne will use its massive data to develop foundational driving models with a focus on corner-case driving scenarios to advance autonomous driving technology.

“We have a lot of vision data that analyzes every aspect of the road and driving behavior and reads different road signs. No one in the autonomous industry has this kind of data,” said Agrawal. “Our goal now is to train a driving model using generative AI to identify these content cases.”

He added that Netradyne’s goal is not to develop its own AV technology, but to partner with others and offer data and insights to startups.

Netradyne’s customers include fleets operating in online retail, food and beverage, oil and gas, utilities, construction, and more. The startup provides two main products. The first is a quad-view dashcam that collects footage from the road-facing, driver-facing, and two side-window cameras all in one easy-to-install device. It captures driver behavior, minimizes blind spots, and provides evidence in the event of an accident. The second is the dual-view camera, which faces the road and the driver.

Fleet owners who need more visibility can use the Hub-X add-on, which is a dashcam extension that supports up to four additional cameras to be placed wherever they are needed, such as the front in the back of a bus.

The startup also offers a driver monitoring solution that can be added to the quad camera to detect drowsy driving habits using a dedicated sensor with night vision and the ability to see the most sunglasses, according to the company.

In response to concerns about driver privacy, Agrawal said Netradyne complies with the GDPR and never provides drivers’ personal information externally.

“Investing in Netradyne is about believing in safer roads and supporting professional drivers,” said Sri Chandrasekar, managing partner of Point72 Private Investments. “Since our initial investment in 2018, we have witnessed Netradyne’s impressive growth and believe their technology is well positioned not only to empower fleet managers but also to foster a culture of safe driving.”

Agrawal said Netradyne has seen 65% growth in the past 12 months, and is expected to turn a net profit next year.

This article has been updated to reflect Netradyne’s new valuation.



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