The partnership between Secondmind and Mazda to develop artificial intelligence innovations has been extended. The solutions being developed by the two companies are said to tackle some of the highest complexity problems in automotive design and engineering, and will be deployed commercially.
As part of the reaffirmed partnership, Mazda has joined a new US$16m funding round in Secondmind, alongside existing Secondmind investors Amadeus Capital Partners, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, and Cambridge Innovation Capital.
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Naohito Saga, executive officer responsible for R&D strategy planning at Mazda, said, “The automotive industry needs to further accelerate the speed and efficiency of development due to the diversification of market needs and the increasing sophistication and complexity of technology, and we hope that our partnership with Secondmind will bring out-of-the-box thinking and innovative technology to Mazda. We look forward to the partnership with Secondmind contributing to the further evolution of Mazda’s vehicle manufacturing.”
The additional investment from Mazda, which includes conversion of a Future Fund note, will enable Secondmind to scale key aspects of its business, including ramping up sales and marketing and accelerating development of the company’s cloud-native Secondmind Optimization Engine.
Gary Brotman, CEO at Secondmind, said, “Secondmind and Mazda have been aligned from day one around a common goal of enabling continuous optimization of vehicle design and performance and helping the automotive industry deliver in the era of the software-defined vehicle. This expanded strategic partnership agreement strengthens our long-standing relationship of deep collaboration, and we are proud to support Mazda in opening new avenues for AI innovation in automotive engineering by way of Mazda’s advanced AI research and education strategy.
“We’re excited to welcome Mazda as an investor in this funding round alongside Amadeus Capital Partners, Atlantic Bridge Ventures and Cambridge Innovation Capital, and we look forward to leveraging this infusion of capital to accelerate the development and commercial deployment of more high-value system design optimization and calibration applications for Mazda and the automotive industry at large.”
The extension of the strategic partnership builds on more than three years of collaboration with increased support of Mazda’s advanced AI research and education strategy. Secondmind will serve as a guide to the Cambridge AI ecosystem to bring more advanced AI solutions to automotive engineering as a key component of the partnership.
Hermann Hauser, co-founder and venture partner, Amadeus Capital Partners, said, “We have backed Secondmind since its earliest stages when it was one of the first companies we found developing practical applications for AI. Still true to this mission, Secondmind’s strategic focus on the automotive industry has proven highly successful and its partnership with Mazda is testament to this. We are pleased to partner with such an industry leader in the latest investment round.”
Kevin Dillon, managing partner, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, said, “As a major investor in Secondmind since 2017, Atlantic Bridge Ventures remains committed to helping the company capitalize on strong demand for its groundbreaking machine learning solutions for precision engineering, and we are excited to welcome Mazda, an automotive engineering innovator, as a strategic investor in Secondmind. We firmly believe in Secondmind’s potential to catalyze transformative automotive design and development efficiencies in the era of the software-defined vehicle.”
Ian Lane, partner, Cambridge Innovation Capital, said, “We are delighted to be part of Secondmind’s mission to transform the design of sustainable vehicles through the power of AI and machine learning. We congratulate Gary and his team on the expansion of their groundbreaking partnership with Mazda, which places Cambridge at the heart of global efforts to accelerate the automotive industry’s transition toward a carbon-neutral future. Secondmind’s AI and cloud-native optimization solutions arm engineers with the tools and confidence to reimagine the development and driving experience of electric vehicles, enabling continuous enhancements in energy efficiency and performance throughout the vehicle’s lifespan.”