NuTonomy Tests Self-Driving Taxis: Features Include Autonomous Navigation Software, Smartphone-Based Ride Request

Self-driving taxis have recently started testing in Singapore. An announcement was made by NuTonomy, a taxi startup, on May 25 about having raised $16 million in Series A funding, which was spearheaded by Highland Capital Partners.

Prior investors Signal Ventures and Fontinalis Partners were among those who participated in the Series A.  Based on reports, EDBI, and investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, and Samsung Ventures were also reported to have contributed to the round.

The self-driving taxis are being aimed at by the NuTonomy, competing with heavyweights name like General Motors Co., Alphabet Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. The company promises to deliver these self-driving vehicles to the road by 2018, according to Space.

NuTonomy, which is a spin out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2013, includes the Singapore government in the list of their major partners. As previously mentioned, the startup has already run a fleet of vehicles in the country, making them the first privately-owned company to have been approved to test such technologies on public roads. Meanwhile, nuTonomy is also undergoing some testing in the UK, where they have partnered with the Jaguar Land Rover, and also Michigan.

The startup promises to build the complete suite for driverless taxis, beginning on the autonomous navigation software, remote vehicle teleoperation, fleet routing and management and even the smartphone-based ride requesting are already being developed.

According to reports, the company uses retrofitted Mitsubishi iMiev electric cars and is believed to include Renault Zoe EVs in its autonomous taxi service later this year.

This startup is entering an industry with well-established names with a long track record of enormous successes. For instance, Toyota Motor Corp, the Japanese automobile maker, has recently announced a partnership with Uber, which is also building self-driving cars. In addition, Apple has also disclosed a $1 billion investment in the Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing. In fact, even General Motors has joined the game, revealing a $500 million investment in Lyft to build an on-demand network of self driving cars, Fortune reported.