Ocado invests £10m in self-driving vehicle company Oxbotica
British online grocer Ocado said on Friday it would invest £10m in autonomous vehicle software company Oxbotica in a bid to reduce delivery costs.
The partnership will include all aspects of self-driving vehicle development, with the aim of boosting retailers’ customer value proposition through a shift to electrically powered cars.
However, vehicles that operated in low-speed urban regions or restricted access areas would become a reality sooner than fully autonomous deliveries to customers’ homes.
Paul Newman, co-founder of Oxbotica, said that the partnership was an “excellent opportunity” for the two firms to act on its visions for the future of autonomy.
“By combining both companies’ cutting-edge knowledge and resources, we hope to bring our Universal Autonomy vision to life and continue to solve some of the world’s most complex autonomy challenges.”
Alex Harvey, chief of advanced technology at Ocado, added: “We are excited about the opportunity to work with Oxbotica to develop a wide range of autonomous solutions that truly have the potential to transform both our and our partners’ CFC and service delivery operations, while also giving all end customers the widest range of options and flexibility.”