Swedish car maker Volvo has acquired Zenseact, an autonomous driving software and hardware supplier. Based in Gothenburg, Zenseact works with NVIDIA, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, and ECARX.
Volvo owned 86.5% of shares in Zenseact with the remaining shares owned by Chinese mobility tech company ECARX. Now, Volvo bought the remaining shares from ECARX to instil Zenseact as its subsidiary.
“The acquisition of the additional 13.5 per cent of shares in Zenseact is a strategic step to owning more of the software powering key functionality going into future cars and supports Volvo Cars’ strategic direction to be a leader in new technology,” the company said in a statement.
Similar to the majority of autonomous driving companies, Zenseact serves as a supplier of self-driving technology to automakers. Until now, Zenseact was providing autonomous tech to Volva and Polestar – which is also owned by Volvo.
Zenseact provided the technology infrastructure to Volvo that will be used in the upcoming Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3 electric SUVs.
Moreover, Zenseact will operate as a standalone company and continue the ongoing collaboration with ECARX. Zenseact will continue to remain and operate as a standalone company and lead the development of safety-, advanced driver assistance- and autonomous driving technologies for introduction first in Volvo and Polestar cars, Volvo said in a statement.
Trouble in Paradise
Recently, autonomous technology company Argo AI was shut down by its shareholders Ford and Volkswagen after its business model failed to generate further business and investment.
Argo AI’s propulsion into the autonomous tech industry in 2017 was hailed as a major breakthrough, as it embodied the next generation of self-driving technology that was promised to become mainstream.
However, a reality check was en route as even after a total of $2.7 billion in funding and backing from major industry players such as Ford, Volkswagen, and Lyft, the company failed to survive.
