The navigation provider for leading car brands like Toyota, General Motors and BMW raised $280 million in a Series E round led by SoftBank.
San Francisco-based Mapbox says it will use the investment to further invest in AI location services and expand its clientele in the automotive industry.
In addition to cars, Mapbox's maps are used in popular consumer apps like Instacart and Foursquare, as well as rendering radar maps for the Weather Company.
"It's this combination of data and AI processing that is unique to Mapbox," said Mapbox CEO Peter Sirota in a press release. "It's what allows us to satisfy our customers' needs across automotive, logistics, business intelligence, and mobile apps. This investment will allow Mapbox to bring its AI technology closer to the sophisticated camera and lidar sensors inside the vehicle, so split-second decisions can be made with the best data possible."
Matchbook claims that the AI technology in its software can help automakers implement automated driving by providing real-time updates on road conditions, while making electric vehicles more efficient by integrating with batteries.
After a few years of retrenchment, SoftBank is back to investing big in startups, driven by a push to capitalize on the latest trends within AI. The Japanese firm said the Mapbox investment is part of its overall AI strategy.
"We believe Mapbox is unlocking entirely new applications for AI in the car," said Vikas Parekh, managing partner for SoftBank Investment Advisers, in the press release. "As AI-driven location features become increasingly sophisticated and computationally demanding, I'm thrilled to see SoftBank's broad portfolio of companies help Mapbox bring those to market faster."
Mapbox was founded in 2011 and has raised $639.55 million to date, according to PitchBook.
