By Chester Dawson, Bloomberg
Honda Motor Co. has signed a multi-year agreement to work with a US AI startup in which it has an equity stake to develop self driving capabilities, tapping into Silicon Valley know-how for next generation automated technologies.
The Japanese carmaker and Redwood City-based Helm.ai Inc. will collaborate on producing advanced driver assistance systems for Honda’s mass market vehicles by 2027, the two said Wednesday in a statement. No value or duration of the contract was disclosed.
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Honda’s bid to join the race to develop so-called end-to-end driving technology aims for partially automated acceleration and steering on both regular roads and highways. It follows early movers in driver assistance software systems such as General Motors Co.’s SuperCruise, Tesla Inc.’s Autopilot and BYD Co.’s God’s Eye.
“This joint development supports Honda’s goal of realizing safe and affordable automated driving technologies for our global customers,” Mahito Shikama, the head of the carmaker’s software defined vehicle business, said.
Honda has been investing in Helm.ai since 2021, including at least $30 million in early stage financing. The closely held startup, which specializes in camera-based computerized perception and simulation software, was founded in 2016 and has raised more than $100 million. In addition to Honda, the company has worked with a number of other automakers and auto parts suppliers.
“We look forward to entering the next phase of production development with Honda, as they expand their in-house efforts to deploy cutting edge autonomous driving technologies in mass market vehicles,” Vladislav Voroninski, Helm.ai’s chief executive officer, said.
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