Honda Motor has signed a multiyear agreement to work with a U.S. AI startup in which it has an equity stake to develop self driving capabilities, tapping into Silicon Valley know-how for next generation automated technologies.
The Japanese carmaker and Redwood City, California-based Helm.ai will collaborate on producing advanced driver assistance systems for Honda¡¯s mass market vehicles by 2027, the two said Wednesday in a statement. No value or duration of the contract was disclosed.
Honda¡¯s bid to join the race to develop so-called end-to-end driving technology aims for partially automated acceleration and steering on both regular roads and highways. It follows early movers in driver assistance software systems such as General Motors¡¯ SuperCruise, Tesla¡¯s Autopilot and BYD¡¯s God¡¯s Eye.
¡°This joint development supports Honda¡¯s goal of realizing safe and affordable automated driving technologies for our global customers,¡± said Mahito Shikama, the head of the carmaker¡¯s software defined vehicle business.
Honda has been investing in Helm.ai since 2021, including at least $30 million in early stage financing. The closely held startup, which specializes in camera-based computerized perception and simulation software, was founded in 2016 and has raised more than $100 million. In addition to Honda, the company has worked with a number of other automakers and auto parts suppliers.
¡°We look forward to entering the next phase of production development with Honda, as they expand their in-house efforts to deploy cutting edge autonomous driving technologies in mass market vehicles,¡± Vladislav Voroninski, Helm.ai¡¯s chief executive officer, said.
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