Oxa

For an Italian singer, see Anna Oxa.
Oxa
FormerlyOxbotica
Company typeScale-up
IndustryAutonomous vehicles
Founded2014
Founder
Headquarters
Oxford
,
England
Area served
UK, Europe, US, Asia
Key people
Gavin Jackson, CEO[1]
ProductsSaaS
Number of employees
400[1] (2025)
Websiteoxa.tech

Oxa (formerly Oxbotica) is an autonomous vehicle software company, headquartered in Oxfordshire, England, and founded by Paul Newman and Ingmar Posner.[2]

History

In 2013, Newman and Posner led the RobotCar UK project as part of Oxford University's Department of Engineering Science Mobile Robotics Group.[3] RobotCar became the first autonomous vehicle on UK roads.[4]

In 2014, the pair used the newly developed technology to found Oxbotica.[5]

Oxbotica has raised over $18 million to date and is backed by the IP Group, Parkwalk Advisors and AXA XL.[6] In 2018, Uber's former EMEA business head, Fraser Robinson, was appointed to the board of directors.[7]

In May 2019, Ozgur Tohumcu replaced Dr Graeme Smith as Oxbotica's CEO.[8] Also in 2019, the company opened an office in Toronto, Canada.[9]

In January 2021, Oxbotica announced it had raised $47 million in a Series B round.[10]

In August 2021, the company achieved a safety landmark as the first company to have its autonomy safety case assessed by BSI (British Standards Institution) against the requirements of the UK Code of Practice 2019, PAS 1881:2020 and PAS 1883:2020, certifying the safety conformity of its autonomous vehicle trials and testing.[11] The assessment was completed as part of Project Endeavour, the UK's first multi-city demonstration of autonomous vehicle services and capability.[12]

In December 2021, Gavin Jackson was named CEO.[13]

In January 2023, the company raised $140 million in a Series C round.[14]

In May 2023, the company changed its name to Oxa.[15]

Oxa raised $103 million (£77 million) in March 2026, including $50 million from the UK National Wealth Fund.[16] Nvidia's venture capital division, NVentures, also invested in the Series D funding round,[17] along with existing Oxa shareholders IP Group, Australian pension fund Hostplus, and BP Ventures, a division of the UK oil company.[16]

Technology

Oxa designs software and hardware for the conversion of industrial vehicles into autonomous ones.[16][17]

Its full stack, end-to-end Universal Autonomy software is both vehicle and platform-agnostic, with no dependence on external infrastructure such as GPS.[18] It can be deployed in any environment and on any terrain.[19] In addition to underground uses, the technology is also useful in natural canyons and forests, where GPS signals are weak or non-existent, but also in "urban canyons" — cities with tall buildings that obstruct GPS signals for proper navigation.[20]

Public deployments

The LUTZ Pathfinder pod had its first public demonstration in February 2015 in Milton Keynes.[21] The Government-funded project was designed to ensure that autonomous vehicles would comply with the Highway Code.[22] The pod featured autonomous control software from Oxbotica, including 19 sensors, cameras, radar and Lidar.[23]

As part of the GATEway Project in 2017, Oxbotica trialled seven autonomous shuttle buses in Greenwich, navigating a two-mile riverside path near London's O2 Arena on a route that is also used by pedestrians and cyclists.[24] Oxbotica ran the UK's first trial of autonomous grocery deliveries that year, with British online supermarket Ocado in London, as the next step in the GATEway Project.[25]

In 2018, Oxbotica deployed its autonomous vehicle software at London's Gatwick Airport, which subsequently became the first airport in the world to trial an autonomous shuttle service.[26] The electric-powered vehicles transported staff via airside roads between the airport's North and South terminals.[27] An airside trial of Oxbotica's autonomous driving technology was then successfully completed at Heathrow Airport in partnership with IAG Cargo, the first airside trial of an autonomous vehicle at a UK airport.[28] The Oxbotica-designed CargoPod ran autonomously along a cargo route around the airside perimeter for three weeks.[29]

As part of the UK Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles-funded DRIVEN project, Oxbotica is developing and deploying a fleet of Ford Fusion autonomous vehicles running in both London and Oxford on public roads, and in conjunction with its consortium partners, running real-time insurance.[30] AXA XL is partnering with Oxbotica on the development of smart insurance products using Oxbotica's autonomy technology to improve road safety.[31]

In 2018, Oxbotica announced a partnership with London private taxi firm Addison Lee to develop and deploy autonomous taxis in the city of London by 2021.[32] A 3D street mapping exercise was conducted in London's Canary Wharf.[33]

In 2019, Oxbotica deployed a fleet of their autonomous technology within Ford Mondeo cars on public roads in Stratford, London to test their use in city environments.[34] The £13.2 million project is in collaboration with The DRIVEN Project to develop self-driving cars.[35]

Awards

2019

2017

2016

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Google-backed UK startup Oxa says US operations "shock absorbed" from Trump tariffs". tech.eu. Webrazzi. 18 April 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
  2. ^ Newman, Paul. "Paul Newman". Oxford Robotics Institute. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Professor Paul Newman | University of Oxford". www.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  4. ^ "RobotCar". Oxford Robotics Institute. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  5. ^ "About Us". Oxbotica. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Oxbotica raises £14m to accelerate deployment of self-driving vehicles - Oxa" (Press release). Oxa. 19 September 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  7. ^ "Former Uber Exec Joins Board of Self-Driving Startup". Bloomberg.com. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  8. ^ Smith, Adrian (20 May 2019). "UK Autonomous Driving Group Oxbotica Announces New CEO". Auto Futures. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  9. ^ Ingram, Katie (15 February 2023). "Oxbotica expanding Toronto team to tackle North America's autonomous vehicle software market". Electric Autonomy. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Oxbotica raises $47M to deploy its autonomous vehicle software in industrial applications". ca.style.yahoo.com. 6 January 2021. Retrieved 6 January 2021.
  11. ^ O'Halloran, Joe. "Project Endeavour concludes with autonomous vehicle passenger rides in London". Computer Weekly. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Driving standards for autonomous vehicles with Project Endeavour". www.bsigroup.com/. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  13. ^ Spencer, Ben. "Oxbotica names Gavin Jackson CEO". ITS International. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  14. ^ Carey, Nick (11 January 2023). "Oxbotica raises $140 mln to deploy self-driving commercial vehicles". Reuters. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Oxbotica Unveils New Brand, as Company Scales Globally". Yahoo Finance. 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  16. ^ a b c Kollewe, Julia (4 March 2026). "Nvidia and UK Wealth Fund invest in British autonomous driving startup Oxa". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 March 2026.
  17. ^ a b Carey, Nick (3 March 2026). "UK self-driving startup Oxa raises $103mln to scale up at ports, airports". Reuters. Retrieved 12 March 2026.
  18. ^ "Innovate UK: Oxbotica develops AI-based brain for self driving cars". Science|Business. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  19. ^ "Oxbotica appoints new CEO; marks next stage of international growth". Global Mining Review. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  20. ^ Shah, Sooraj (14 July 2020). "How Autonomous Cars Are Overcoming GPS Signal Loss With Radar". Forbes. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  21. ^ rosemary. "LUTZ Pathfinder". Oxford Robotics Institute. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  22. ^ Davies, Rob (11 October 2016). "Self-driving car tested for first time in UK in Milton Keynes". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Driverless pods". Catapult. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  24. ^ Balch, Oliver (13 April 2017). "Driverless cars will make our roads safer, says Oxbotica co-founder". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Ocado's driverless delivery van is a glimpse of the future". Engadget. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  26. ^ Schofield, Jack. "Gatwick Airport to trial British self-driving car system from Oxbotica". ZDNet. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  27. ^ "Gatwick to be first airport in the world to trial autonomous vehicles to shuttle staff across the airfield". www.mediacentre.gatwickairport.com. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Heathrow Airport Conducts First Trail of Newest Autonomous Airside Vehicles". interestingengineering.com. 29 March 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  29. ^ "IAG Cargo trials UK's first autonomous airport vehicle - Lloyd's Loading List". www.lloydsloadinglist.com. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Oxbotica: AI firm develops 'brain' for autonomous vehicles". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  31. ^ "XL Catlin Signs Landmark Agreement With Oxbotica". Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  32. ^ Topham, Gwyn (22 October 2018). "Addison Lee aims to deploy self-driving cars in London by 2021". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Addison Lee Group and Oxbotica begin mapping Canary Wharf for autonomous vehicle services". Addison Lee. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  34. ^ Topham, Gwyn (3 October 2019). "'It's going to be a revolution': driverless cars in new London trial". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  35. ^ "DRIVEN project demonstrates how driverless cars can operate safely in London". TRL. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  36. ^ "Royal Academy of Engineering Silver Medal for 'pioneering engineer' Professor Paul Newman — Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division". www.mpls.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  37. ^ "Boldness in Business awards 2017: FT editor Lionel Barber's view". Financial Times. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  38. ^ "DRIVERLESS VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY WINS THIS YEAR'S AWARD FOR INNOVATION". The Oxford Trust. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  39. ^ "Oxbotica scoops robotics award". Insurance Business Mag. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2017.

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