Netradyne secures $90 million at $1.35 billion valuation to expand smart dash cameras for commercial fleets
Reckless driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and a major reason behind high car insurance premiums It is expected to rise in 2025. For commercial fleets, this is a nightmare. But for California-based startup Netradyne, it’s a tailwind.
Nitradine Provides fleet owners, incl Big names like Amazonwith AI-powered surveillance cameras that collect vehicle data and videos to improve driver safety and reduce accidents by approximately 50%, according to the company. The devices, which can be equipped with indoor and outdoor cameras, also use edge computing to send drivers real-time notifications if they are distracted or driving dangerously, while rewarding drivers for good behavior.
TechCrunch was last reported on Netradyne’s $150 million Series C In 2021, the company has since expanded beyond North America and India and into Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. To fuel this growth in Ireland and Japan in the coming months, Netradyne has just raised a $90 million Series D at a pre-cash valuation of $1.35 billion, led by Point72 Private Investments with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Pavilion Capital.
And with great expansion comes great data. Over the years, Netradyne has collected more than 18 billion miles of data, which the company says has helped improve the product to the point of 99% alert accuracy and 25 million better compliance scores.
Apart from global expansion, the new capital will be directed towards improving the product and enhancing investments in the market.
Today, fleets have access to Netradyne’s Assistant Safety Manager, an AI-powered co-pilot that provides a natural language interface to the company portal and uses generative AI to have conversations about data and insights. Netradyne CEO and co-founder Avneesh Agrawal told TechCrunch that the company will invest more in generative AI, adding additional use cases to its experimental assistant and a more “agent approach.”
Agrawal also noted that Netradyne will use its vast data to develop basic driving models with a focus on corner-case driving scenarios to enhance autonomous driving technology.
“We have rich vision data that analyzes every aspect of the road, driving behavior and reading different road signs. No one in the autonomous industry has this kind of data,” Agrawal said. “Our goal now is to train the driving model using generative AI to identify these edge cases.” “
He added that Netradyne’s intention is not to develop its own AV technology, but rather to partner with others and provide the startup’s data and insights.
Netradyne customers span fleets in online retail, food and beverage, oil and gas, utilities, construction, and more. The startup offers two main products. The first is a quad-view camera that combines footage from the road-facing camera, the driver and two side-window cameras, all in one easy-to-install device. This captures driver behavior, reduces blind spots, and provides evidence in the event of an accident. The second is a dual-view camera, facing both the road and the driver.
Fleet owners who need more visibility can use the Hub-X add-on, a dashcam extension that supports up to four additional cameras that can be placed anywhere they need them, such as facing the back of a bus.
The startup also offers a driver monitoring solution that can be added to the quad camera to detect drowsy driving behaviors using a custom sensor with night detection and the ability to see through most sunglasses, according to the company.
In response to concerns about driver privacy, Agrawal says Netradyne is GDPR compliant and never provides drivers’ personally identifiable information externally.
“Investing in Netradyne is about believing in safer roads and supporting professional drivers,” said Sri Chandrasekar, Managing Partner at Point72 Private Investments. “Since our initial investment in 2018, we have seen impressive growth for Netradyne and believe its technology is well-positioned to not only empower fleet managers but also foster a culture of safe driving.”
Netradyne has seen 65% growth in the past 12 months and expects to be net profitable next year, Agrawal said.
This article has been updated to reflect Netradyne’s new rating.
