Global Brain backs Japan cybersecurity, driverless car play
Global Brain has led a Series A funding round of undisclosed size for Trillium, a Japanese cybersecurity company focused on the emerging autonomous vehicle industry.
It follows a seed investment in June last year from the GP’s fifth fund, which closed at JPY15 billion ($133 million) in 2013. Other participants included Mizuho Capital and DBJ Capital, a unit of the Development Bank of Japan.
According to a statement, the capital will be used to develop and deploy the company’s automotive cybersecurity products, SecureCAR and SecureIoT. It will also be applied to establishing a satellite penetration program and expanding both in-vehicle testing efforts and an existing operational footprint in the US.
Founded in 2014, Trillium uses internet-of-things (IoT) technology to service the cybersecurity needs of internet-enabled car manufacturers and insurers. It claims its software can be implemented for as little as one-tenth the cost of competing products, most of which are still under development. Full commercialization of the platform is planned for 2020.
"With funding now in place, we are set to move quickly to market with a robust and urgently needed solution," said David Uze, Trillium's CEO. "Hundreds of articles on autonomous driving appear in the media every day, but almost none mention the elephant in the room: automakers do not yet have a reliable defense against cyber threats. Period. One serious hack could immediately halt progress in automated driving. But we have the remedy."
Although most development in driverless smart cars has been realized in Western markets, Asia is being seen as a potential industry leader following the launch of a dedicated fund by Alibaba Group and SAIC Motors. Regional investment has been supported by the rapid increase of vehicle sales in emerging economies and government modernization policies encouraging cross-border activity.
Last year, US and China-based VC firm Highland Capital Partners led a group of US and Asian investors in a $16 million round for NuTonomy, a company aiming to commercialize a driverless taxi fleet in Singapore by 2018. Meanwhile, China’s Leshi Internet Information and Technology raised about $1 billion for a self-driving electric car project.
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