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Investment in autonomous technology has accelerated in recent years with billions poured into companies developing self-driving vehicles. However, questions remain about when - or even if - this nascent industry will deliver on its promise of revolutionizing transportation, making commuting faster, safer and less stressful.
While technology is advancing, we observed a warning sign on the commercialization road. In particular, we are unaware of any venture-funded company that is generating meaningful non-recurring revenue in road autonomy. We are not just talking about profitability; the issue is the absence of commercial revenues. After years of investment, are we on the cusp of a failure or a major breakthrough? Has autonomy reached its Phase 3 clinical trials maturity stage?
Today, we are optimistic about autonomy in constrained, high ROI use cases, and our optimism is well grounded. It is based on hundreds of data points collected across the global startup ecosystem. The emergence of commercial autonomy has finally begun, and we predict that the industry will reach an inflection point in the next 2-3 years.
The ROI for non-highway applications is indisputable. Not only does autonomy address the labor shortage problem, it reduces enterprise operating costs and improves the quality of the final product. Amplifying and riding the autonomy swell, Autotech is doubling down on its investments in off-road autonomy ranging from agricultural robots and autonomous mining equipment to automated forklifts.
For a venture capital investor, being too early is indistinguishable from being wrong. As venture funding for autonomous startups has dried up, we are preparing for the coming tsunami and paddling to catch the generational wave. Only time will tell if Phase 3 for autonomy will turn the dream into reality.
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