Technological advances for autonomous vehicles are causing meaningful changes in the auto industry. Both financial and strategic investors (i.e OEMs, tech companies, auto suppliers, etc.) are allocating a significant amount of capital to the sector. Over $1 billion was invested in small independent auto tech companies in 2016 – a 91% increase from the previous year, according to CB Insights. Even more is expected for 2017 – see below for notable 2017 capital raises.

Last year, Apple tapped a key executive to lead efforts to develop an autonomous driving system. BMW is teaming with Intel and Mobileye in attempts to bring self-driving cars to market by 2021. Intel predicts autonomous cars will spawn a ‘passenger economy’ – services targeted at people while they are no longer driving their cars. Ford recently announced that it would take a majority stake in AI startup Argo and will invest $5 billion over 5 years as it aggressively pursues opportunities in this field. Audi will become the first company to test autonomous vehicles in New York when its demonstration car hits the streets of Albany in mid-June 2017. While Uber recently fired their autonomous-car researcher Anthony Levandowski (over the lawsuit with Waymo – a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet), it remains a key part of their strategic plans for the future especially given Waymo’s recent announcement that it is teaming up with Lyft.

By 2030, self-driving cars are expected to comprise up to 15% of total vehicles sold, according to McKinsey. Venky Ganesan, managing director of the California-based venture capital firm Menlo Ventures, estimates that autonomous cars will cause a 20% increase in auto buying habits, which would mean a $1.8 trillion impact on the world economy.

Notable 2017 Auto Tech Capital Raises

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Sources: bankrate.com, McKinsey, Autoweek, Forbes, CB Insights

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Ken Margolis | Managing Partner Castle Placement, LLC
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