- Nexar announced it has raised $52 million in Series C funding and launched a new data product called Nexar Virtual Camera
Nexar announced it has raised $52 million in Series C funding and launched a new data product called Nexar Virtual Camera. This round was led by Corner Ventures with participation from Samsung NEXT, La Maison, Micron Ventures, Sompo, Atreides Management, and previous investors Aleph, Mosaic Ventures, Ibex Investors, and Nationwide. Including this funding round, the company has raised a total of nearly $100 million.
The company’s U.S.-based network of drivers taps into the company’s vision-powered dash cameras and it has grown tenfold since late 2018 and spans over 70 million miles every month across more than 1,000 cities.
As a result, Nexar now covers over 90% of freeways and more than 50% of non-residential U.S. roads every week. The data generated from this user growth has enabled Nexar to build a robust portfolio of vision-based data services for cities and the private sector.
To support public officials monitoring the impact of COVID-19, Nexar is today launching a new data product called Nexar Virtual Camera — which pulls a feed of frames from any location on the Nexar network.
This allows users to get on-demand visual insights into what is happening with key areas of interest like monitoring traffic at hospital entrances or observing crowd levels in park spaces as well as a number of products for private sector users. Nexar is making this product available for free for the duration of the crisis.
The Series C funding will support the growth and development of data services like these along with fueling the company’s global expansion.
Nexar also announced a partnership with Japanese insurance giant Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co. (MSI) to put Nexar tech into hundreds of thousands of vehicles in Japan. And in the coming months, Nexar will also roll out a curbside mapping pilot in Europe with one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers.
Key Quotes:
“Our vision-based technology is bringing automated safe-driving alerts to our users, while at the same time generating on-demand roadway insights that are being used right now by our public and private sector partners. As we look to expand beyond the U.S. into new markets, we are realizing the future that we set out to build – a connected network that can actually make our roads more efficient and save lives.”
-Nexar CEO and co-founder Eran Shir
“The Nexar network not only benefits the company’s users, but through their services it benefits everyone on the road. That’s a very powerful thing, and it’s why Corner has decided to join Nexar at this critical moment in their growth journey to power the company’s global expansion.”
-Corner Ventures partner Marvin Tien
“Vision-based technology companies are in a race to see who can capture the most roadway data, the most quickly, the most cost-effectively and the most frequently. Whoever wins this race will make cities, states, and private companies smarter and safer in the near term, and power mapping and geolocation for autonomous vehicles in the long term. Nexar is winning that race, and we’re betting on them to chart our digital future.”
-Aleph partner Michael Eisenberg
