IP Group PLC (LSE:IPO), the London-listed science and technology investor, said portfolio company Oxa Autonomy has raised $103 million in the first close of a Series D funding round, backed by the UK's National Wealth Fund and NVentures, the venture capital arm of chip designer Nvidia.
IP Group invested £7.5 million from its own balance sheet and a further £19 million through funds it manages on behalf of Australian pension fund Hostplus, giving it a combined beneficial holding of 20.3% in Oxa.
The National Wealth Fund committed an initial $50 million to the round, with bp Ventures, the investment arm of the oil major, among the other participants.
Oxa, a self-driving vehicle software company, will use the proceeds to accelerate commercialisation of what it calls Industrial Mobility Automation, the use of autonomous driving technology to handle repetitive driving tasks in environments such as ports, airports and logistics facilities.
Greg Smith, chief executive of IP Group, said the calibre of investors in the round "underlines the growing conviction behind Oxa's leadership" in the sector, adding that the company's "universal AI driver" approach positioned it to scale across industrial vehicles and environments as adoption accelerates.