Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and the main reason why car insurance premiums will increase by 2025. For commercial fleets, it’s a nightmare. But for California-based startup Netradyne, it’s a tailwind. Netradyne provides fleet owners, including big names like Amazon, with AI-enabled dashcams that collect vehicle data and video to improve driver safety, reducing accidents by around 50%, according to the company. The device, which can be equipped with inside and outside-facing cameras, also uses edge computing to send drivers real-time notifications if they are distracted or driving dangerously, while rewarding drivers for good behavior. TechCrunch last reported on Netradyne’s $150 million Series C in 2021, and since then the company has expanded beyond North America and India and into Germany, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. To expand its growth to Ireland and Japan in the coming months, Netradyne just raised a $90 million Series D at a pre-money valuation of $1.35 billion, led by Point72 Private Investments with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Pavilion Capital. And with big expansion comes big data. Over the years, Netradyne has collected more than 18 billion miles of data, which the company says has helped improve its products with 99% mark accuracy and 25 million better compliance scores. In addition to global expansion, fresh capital will improve products and increase investment into the market. Today, fleets can access Netradyne’s Safety Manager Assistant, an AI-powered co-pilot that offers a natural language interface to company portals and uses generative AI to talk about data and insights. Avneesh Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of Netradyne, told TechCrunch the company will be investing more into generative AI, adding additional use cases for co-pilots and a more “agent approach.” Agrawal also noted that Netradyne will use large amounts of data to develop a basic driving model with a focus on cornering driving scenarios to improve autonomous driving technology. “We have rich vision data that analyzes every aspect of the road and driving behavior and reads different road signs. No one in the autonomous industry has this kind of data,” said Agrawal. “Our current goal is to train a driving model using generative AI to identify these edge cases.” He added that it is not Netradyne’s intention to develop its own AV technology, but to partner with others and provide initial data and insights. Netradyne’s customers include fleets operating in online retail, food and beverage, oil and gas, utilities, construction, and more. The startup provides two main products. The first is a quad-view dashcam that gathers footage from the road-facing, driver-facing, and two side-window cameras all in one easy-to-install device. It captures driver behavior, reduces blind spots, and provides evidence in the event of an accident. The second is a dual-view camera, which faces the road and the driver. Fleet owners who need more visibility can use the Hub-X add-on, which is an addition to the dashcam that supports up to four additional cameras to be placed wherever they are needed, such as facing the back of the bus. The startup also offers a driver monitoring solution that can be added to quad cameras to detect drowsy driving behavior using special sensors with night detection and the ability to see through sunglasses, according to the company. In response to concerns about driver privacy, Agrawal said 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 of Point72 Private Investments. “Since our initial investment in 2018, we have witnessed Netradyne’s impressive growth and believe that its technology will not only empower fleet managers but also foster a culture of safe driving.” Agrawal said Netradyne has seen 65% growth in the last 12 months, and expects to have a net profit next year. This article has been updated to reflect Netradyne’s new valuation.
Netradyne secures $90M in $1.35B valuation to expand smart dashcams for commercial fleets
