Stellantis and aiMotive, one of the first companies to make cutting-edge AI solutions and software for self-driving cars, made their new deal public. Stellantis bought aiMotive.
This purchase helps Stellantis's core AI and autonomous driving technologies, its global talent pool, and the development of the new STLA AutoDrive platform in the middle term.
To become a sustainable mobility technology company, Yves Bonnefont, Chief Software Officer of Stellantis, believes that acquiring aiMotive's excellent autonomous driving and artificial intelligence technologies is a significant step. "The entrepreneurial mentality and the authoritative experience of aiMotive will give us an impetus to accomplish the goals of our Dare Forward 2030 plan," the company's founders said.
In AI and self-driving cars, aiMotive's product line is broken down into four main categories: aiDrive, aiData, aiWare, and aiSim.
The three new technology platforms developed by Stellantis software teams (STLA Brain, STLA SmartCockpit, and STLA AutoDrive) will be widely adopted in the four new vehicle platforms (STLA Small, STLA Medium, STLA Large, and STLA Frames). Announced at Stellantis Software Day in December 2021, the software strategy is backed by a €30 billion investment in electrification and software and is projected to generate approximately €20 billion in incremental annual revenues by the end of the decade as part of the bold Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan.
aiMotive has more than 200 highly skilled workers across the globe, including engineers with expertise in advanced AI and autonomous driving, with headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, and operations in Germany, the United States, and Japan. Though it will be a Stellantis subsidiary, aiMotive will keep its startup identity and spirit. László Kishonti, aiMotive's founder and current CEO, will maintain his position. He will keep on selling aiData, aiSim, and aiWare products to other companies in all three categories.
Stellantis plans to establish a Board of Directors to oversee AI Motive and ensure its continued viability as a young company dedicated to quickly implementing novel ideas. The Stellantis teams will work with the aiMotive group to develop AI and self-driving vehicles.
The transaction's closing is contingent on the satisfaction of closing conditions, including antitrust restrictions.