MORAI Raises $20M to Expand Simulation for Autonomous Vehicles
February 8, 2022
South Korea’s MORAI, which develops full-stack autonomous vehicle simulation technology, has announced it raised $20 million in Series B funding. The new funding includes investments from Korea Investment Partners, KB Investment, and the state-run Korea Development Bank. Existing investors from Naver’s D2 Startup Factory, Hyundai Motor Group’s ZERO1NE, Kakao Ventures, and Atinum Investment also participated in the round.
Founded in 2018 by three autonomous driving researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIS), MORAI has developed technology that can automatically convert HD map data into digital twins, providing large-scale simulation environments. At this year’s CES, the company unveiled a cloud-based autonomous vehicle simulation technology that uses the cloud to build a myriad of simulation environments without hardware restrictions, enabling simultaneous testing.
“We will focus on utilizing the funding to hire quality talent,” said Jiwon Jung, CEO of MORAI. “Together with industry talent, we will continue sharpening our technological edge to further enhance our global competitiveness.
WIth a U.S. office in the San Francisco Bay Area, the company said it will further expand its global presence by establishing offices in Germany, Japan, and Singapore. The funding will also be used to apply its autonomous vehicle simulation technology to other vehicles, such as urban air mobility.
“MORAI’s simulator technology will play a key role in enhancing the safety and functionality of self-driving cars,” said Geun-ho Kim, executive director of Korea Investment Partners. “MORAI has the potential to become one of the leading companies in the global autonomous driving sector, and we are looking forward to the company’s future growth.”
Existing customers of MORAI include corporate clients such as Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai AutoEver, Naver Labs, and 42dot, as well as educational and research institutions such as KAIST and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority. The company also formed partnerships with corporations such as NVIDIA, Ansys, and dSPACE.
For more details on the company and its technology, visit the MORAI website here.
