TomTom acquires self-driving startup Autonomos

TomTom, an Amsterdam-based navigation and mapping company has acquired Autonomos, a Berlin-based autonomous driving startup. The acquisition is believed to strengthen TomTom’s position in autonomous driving. The valuation of the deal remains undisclosed. Established in 2012, Autonomos has reportedly provided Research & Development consultancy services for automated vehicle assistance systems and has built up expertise and technologies in the process. This includes a full demonstration-level autonomous driving software stack, 3D sensor technology, and digital image processing.

“We are proud to have been selected by the world leader in map making for bringing autonomous driving together to the next level. TomTom’s technology combined with our intelligent driving know-how are a perfect match to make the dream of self-driving cars become a reality,” says Tinosch Ganjineh, CEO and Co-founder of Autonomos.

With the acquisition, TomTom aims to advance its map-based products for autonomous driving applications. It further explains that having an in-house autonomous driving stack will enable it to better serve customers with its products, including its HD map, RoadDNA localization technology, as well as its navigation, traffic and other cloud services.

“This is an important development for TomTom as it will help us to continue to strengthen our capabilities for the future of driving and expand our knowledge and expertise. With this deal we are further positioning ourselves as one of the leaders in autonomous driving,” says Harold Goddijn, CEO and Co-founder, TomTom.

With automobile companies like BMW, Nissan and Volkswagen trying hard to decode the self driving technology, the move to seek Autonomos’ expertise in the field is an important lead by TomTom. TomTom presently provides data to companies like Uber and Apple alongside providing its own navigation and mapping products. Now, the company is working on incorporating its GPS technology in self-driving cars. Just last week, the company announced the introduction of its real-time traffic service in Argentina and Colombia, increasing the coverage in South America to four countries (after Brazil and Chile) and extending the global reach to 54 countries.