After months of heartfelt marketing efforts and massive technology demonstrations across the United States, Nuro has secured fresh $106 million in funding to expand its autonomous driving technology and advance its commercial partnership.
The Series E round will increase Nuro’s total funding to $2.2 billion, bringing its valuation to $6 billion. This is down from the $8.6 billion post-money valuation rating that was won after the $600 million Series D in 2021, but most startup valuations have fallen from the highs seen in the Easy Money era.
Typically, downrounds can be a source of concern as they may reflect a decline in investor confidence during slower progress than expected. That said, it’s a tough funding environment. In the case of Nuro, the company may need less capital as it pursues the recent business pivot, which focuses on licensing autonomous driving technology to autonomous OEMs, commercial delivery fleets, and ride companies.
TechCrunch reported on changes in Nuro’s strategy last fall.
Nuro’s previous market plans revolved around the construction and operation of cute on-road delivery robots that could only carry goods and not passengers for partners like Domino. However, building vehicles was an expensive job, and Nuro was rapidly burning cash.
After putting a few layoffs and manufacturing plans on hold, Nulo decided to instead focus on bolstering the autonomous driving technology he was constantly testing in California and Texas. In September 2024, Nuro co-founder and president Dave Ferguson told TechCrunch that the company will rely on AI advances to accelerate autonomy progress and extend the runway to 1.5 to 3.5 to 5.5 years.
This new round does not necessarily expand the runway further. A Nuro spokesman told TechCrunch that the round would support its commercial expansion plans through 2027.
Despite the downround, NURO recommends that its supporters are primarily existing institutional investors, including T. Rowe Price Associates, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Tiger Global Management, GreyLock Partners and XN LP.
Jiajun Zhu, co-founder and CEO of Nuro, said in a statement: “We focus on our unique placement to help our technology, our years of experience in the deployment of Driver Out Level 4 and helping automakers, mobility platforms and commercial fleets accelerate our autonomy roadmap.”
Nuro has yet to share which strategic investors have participated in the round, but the company has existing ties with Uber and Toyota through Toyota’s venture arm, the Investor Weaving Capital.
Nuro’s new business model competes directly with startups like UK-based Wayve. This hopes that everything from personal autonomous vehicles to the Robotaxi fleet will be powered.
This article has been updated with more information about the Nuro runway.
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