Israeli Auto Simulation Startup Cognata Raises $18.5M

Israeli autonomous vehicle simulation platform provider Cognata said it secured $18.5 million in a private financing round led by Scale Venture Partners, with the participation of existing investors including Emerge, Maniv Mobility, and Airbus Ventures. A new investor, Global IoT Technology Ventures, also took part.

Cognata, which developed an automotive simulation platform to advance the development of self-driving vehicles, said it will use the funds to grow it engineering group and expand commercially in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The simulation platform combines artificial intelligence, deep learning and computer vision to provide a virtual environment.

In June, Cognata announced a collaboration with German car maker Audi AG to conduct simulations through through AID (Autonomous Intelligence Drive), a subsidiary of the German automotive company. According to the agreement, Cognata’s breakthrough tech will be integrated into AID, which will then implement the company’s cloud-based solution for all simulation purposes on a grand scale, at all stages of development and production of its vehicles.

The startup was founded in 2016 by Danny Atsmon, who also serves as its CEO.