AI startup Netradyne raises Series C from SoftBank Vision Fund, others

US and India based artificial intelligence firm Netradyne, which focuses on driver and fleet safety, on Thursday said it has raised $150 million (Rs 1,116 crore) as part of its Series C funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund.

Existing investors early stage venture capital firm Point72 Ventures and the venture capital arm of tech giant Microsoft, M12, also participated in the funding round, said Netradyne in a statement.

With this funding, Netradyne has raised over $197 million.

The company will use the fresh capital for strengthening its technological capabilities, expansion into new regions and for hiring.

Netradyne was founded in September 2015 by Avneesh Agrawal and David Julian. The company has built Driveri, a vision-based driver recognition and fleet safety platform that provides commercial fleet managers with insights into positive driving and identifies opportunities for individual coaching.

Agrawal, a Stanford University graduate, was senior vice president of technology and business at chipmaker Qualcomm for over 10 years. He was also president of Qualcomm India & South Asia, responsible for business, sales and marketing operations in the region.

Julian worked as principal engineer in Qualcomm Research for 12 years before launching Netradyne. He also worked at US space agency NASA’s jet propulsion laboratory in the past.

Since its foundation, Netradyne has crossed over 1,000 fleets across multiple industries. The company's annual recurring revenue grew over 300% in 2019 and the same in 2020. 

In 2016, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries invested $16 million in Netradyne’s Series A round of funding. In 2018, Reliance Industries made a follow-on investment of $8 million.

Nagraj Kashyap, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers, said that the technology developed by Netradyne and its advancements are poised to profoundly impact the entire transportation ecosystem by creating safer roads.

"This advanced vision-based technology improves the commercial driver experience and performance to help reduce transportation-related deaths and injuries on the roadway," added Kashyap.

SoftBank Vision Fund 2, backed by Japanese conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp, has been active in its investments in India this year. Its recent bets in India include enterprise software platform Whatfix, social ecommerce platform Meesho, small and medium enterprise (SME) financing platform OfBusiness, and banking tech startup Zeta.