(Bloomberg) -- Investors have put more than $300 million into vehicle software maker Applied Intuition Inc. — part of a secondary deal that allowed shareholders and employees to sell shares in the $6 billion startup, and VCs to take a bigger piece.
Fidelity Management & Research Company joined the financing as a new investor, alongside existing backers including General Catalyst, Lux Capital and Bond, the venture firm started by internet trend watcher Mary Meeker.
Meeker in an email called the market for software in cars “underappreciated.” She also said that Applied Intuition is building relationships in a variety of sectors in addition to autos — including trucking, construction, mining and defense. “Why shouldn’t the software in the car we drive be as sophisticated as the ‘phone’ we use?” Meeker said.
Founded in 2017 by two former Alphabet Inc. staffers, Applied Intuition started out with a focus on driving simulations for autonomous vehicle startups, then expanded to encompass a broader range of software. The company serves an automotive industry that’s rapidly becoming more digital, and inching closer to autonomous driving.
In an interview, Applied Intuition co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Qasar Younis spoke of the company’s vision to “accelerate the adoption of smart and safe machines,” noting that the startup is building technology for cars, trucks, boats and planes. In particular, he was enthusiastic about self-driving technology.
“We can help companies test whether that autonomous driving software that they’ve built is safe,” he said. The company says that 18 of the top 20 global automakers use its technology.
The financing comes on the heels of a Series E funding round in March in which the startup raised $250 million at a valuation of $6 billion. Applied Intuition said it had more than enough investor interest to complete the latest deal.
Secondary share sales have become more popular as the IPO market remains tight and still-private startups look for a way for employees to cash out some of their shares. Younis said the deal was an opportunity to provide liquidity to shareholders because the startup is still several years away from an IPO, and it was important to him that current and former employees have the opportunity to access some of their vested stock while the startup is still private.
He added that the deal came about because of excess investor interest from the March funding round.
Hemant Taneja, CEO and managing director at General Catalyst, said that Applied Intuition’s role in the automotive industry at large is “akin to what Anduril has done for the defense industry.” Taneja added: “If Anduril is a modern day Lockheed Martin, Applied Intuition is the new Bosch.”
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