Robotic Research LLC secured its first outside investment in a $228 million Series A funding round, company executives said in a statement.
The Clarksburg, Maryland, autonomous and robotic systems company, a 2020 Washington Business Journal Fastest Growing Companies honoree, develops comprehensive autonomous driving technology that can be deployed on commercial, bus and logistics vehicles.
“This investment reflects our success in developing autonomous solutions for our U.S. government customers, and will provide the resources needed to meet our growing commercial customer demand and the expansion of our commercial efforts,” Robotic Research CEO Alberto Lacaze said in a statement. “Our long history and experience has enabled us to develop a proven solution that is not only rugged, safe and reliable, but also versatile and ideal for operating across a variety of environments, weather conditions, and use cases.”
The Series A round includes investments from SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Crescent Cove Advisors, Henry Crown and Company, Luminar Technologies Inc. and Chevy Chase government technology investment firm Enlightenment Capital.
Enlightenment’s investment signals growing interest in the expansion of Robotic Research’s commercial division, RR.AI, and its ongoing utilization in government contract applications.
Robotic Research already provides several products and applications to the Department of Defense, including vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous ground-based resupply vehicles, equipment transport vehicles, localization devices to help provide navigation in GPS-denied environment and other services.
UBS Investment Bank served as financial adviser and placement agent for Robotic Research. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP served as legal adviser, with Covington & Burling LLP as special counsel for the company.
