Potential CEO Sam Poirier with the company’s P0 test vehicle (CNW Group/Potential Motors)

FREDERICTON — Potential, a Canadian automotive technology company developing advanced driver assistance systems for off-road environments, announced that it has raised $2M CAD in a successful seed round extension. This builds on two previous seed round commitments, for a total of $8.5M raised since May 2020.

Investors in the extension include returning partners Brightspark Ventures, Build Ventures and NBIF (the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation), with Farpointe joining for the first time. They join existing investors, including Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures.

The latest funding will be used to drive commercialization of Potential’s AI-powered perception solutions in automotive, powersports, mining and defense sectors, following years of intensive R&D.

Potential has already partnered with a major manufacturer of recreational off-road vehicles (CFMOTO Powersports Inc) and delivered its first project for a global automotive brand. The company has another pilot project in the automotive sector underway in Q2, with further projects at scoping stage.

Potential’s core technology is branded Terrain Intelligence. This software platform uses forward-facing sensors (such as cameras) to interpret terrain shape, incline gradient, surface type, obstacles and more. The platform can deliver multiple outputs, from presenting data to drivers all the way through to self-selecting vehicle control adjustments such as drive mode, suspension and differential settings, torque levels and more.

Sam Poirier, CEO at Potential: “Potential’s expertise in off-road terrain, computer vision and AI will make vehicles safer, faster, more agile and more comfortable in extreme environments. Our solutions can improve outcomes on the road too, so our technology could be used in all sorts of vehicles. I’m pleased to welcome back existing partners as well as new investors at this critical milestone in our journey.”