Adam Bahlke and Roy Uhlmann, the founders of MOTOR Ai, in Berlin. Supply: © 2025 Gene Glover/Agentur Focus
“In a world racing towards autonomous autos, Europe has taken a special path — demanding not simply efficiency, however explainability, security, and full authorized compliance,” mentioned MOTOR Ai. The Berlin-based firm right this moment introduced that it has raised $20 million in seed funding to deliver its licensed, neuroscience-driven expertise into full deployment, beginning with German public roads.
“Our answer meets key necessities for transparency and traceability of autonomous driving choices, as required by authorities. acknowledged Roy Uhlmann, CEO of MOTOR Ai. “That clearly distinguishes us from U.S. suppliers and on the identical time optimally complies with European regulatory necessities.”
Uhlmann and Chief Expertise Officer Adam Bahlke based the firm in 2017. MOTOR Ai mentioned it has developed SAE Degree 4 cognitive intelligence for autonomous driving. It asserted that it plans to develop the primary licensed autonomous automobile fleet for Europe.
Roy Uhlmann, co-founder and CEO of MOTOR Ai. Supply: © 2025 Gene Glover/Agentur Focus
MOTOR Ai guarantees reliability, transparency
MOTOR Ai mentioned its system could make choices in complicated visitors conditions. In distinction to purely machine studying techniques, that are primarily based on pretrained conditions, the expertise could make dependable and understandable choices in beforehand untested situations, claimed the startup.
The German firm added that its synthetic intelligence causes by knowledge somewhat than simply reacting. MOTOR Ai mentioned it has constructed “a cognitive structure rooted in lively inference, a mannequin from neuroscience that enables autos to make structured, clear choices.”
The corporate mentioned its method offers two benefits: The autonomous driver may be licensed in response to worldwide security requirements, and, as a result of if its capacity to generalize info, the system doesn’t have to be educated in all situations.
System designed for European certification
Belief is turning into more and more vital to the widespread adoption of autonomous techniques, famous MOTOR Ai. As self-driving autos transfer nearer to on a regular basis use, it mentioned European governments and the general public are asking harder questions: How are these techniques making choices? Can these choices be defined or are they pure black-box techniques?
MOTOR Ai declared that its structure is designed to reply these questions clearly, legally, and reliably.
Whereas different suppliers pursue autonomy by brute-force knowledge assortment, end-to-end options, and black-box prediction fashions, MOTOR Ai mentioned its “full-stack” system already meets probably the most stringent European and worldwide security, privateness, and cybersecurity necessities. They embrace UNECE approval requirements, ISO 26262 (ASIL-D), Regulation (EU) 2022/1426, Autonomous Autos Approval and Operation Ordinance (AFGBV), GDPR, the EU AI Act, and upcoming Cyber Resilience Act provisions.
“Such a AI permits the best security normal in autonomous driving — as is already legally standardized in Europe,” mentioned Uhlmann.
Financing to construct crew and belief
Segenia Capital and eCAPITAL led the seed spherical with participation from mobility-focused angel buyers. MOTOR Ai mentioned the brand new capital will assist hiring, industrial rollouts, and growth.
“This ‘Made in Germany’ in-house improvement reduces interdependencies whereas strengthening Europe’s capacity to function in crucial progressive expertise,” mentioned Lucas Merle, principal at eCAPITAL.
MOTOR Ai mentioned autos geared up with its Degree 4 system for autonomous driving will begin operations this 12 months in a number of German districts. The autos can be supervised on board by security drivers to be eliminated in 2026.
These deployments will embrace each the complete onboard autonomy stack and the technical supervision required by regulation. MOTOR Ai mentioned this can “give native transit authorities a totally operable path to autonomous transport with out compromising management or security.”
“In a regulated atmosphere like Europe, belief and compliance are non-negotiable,” mentioned Michael Janßen, basic companion at Segenia Capital. “MOTOR Ai has constructed an answer that’s not solely technologically differentiated, however [is also] essentially aligned with how Europe thinks about infrastructure and public security. That is how autonomy will scale in future.”
Wanting forward, MOTOR Ai plans to develop its engineering, security, and kind approval groups. It additionally mentioned it’ll increase deployment partnerships with municipalities and start cross-border regulatory growth into different European markets. The corporate’s acknowledged long-term objective is “an authorized, explainable driver system that may function infrastructure for protected, clear autonomy — one which Europe can each construct on and imagine in.”
“We don’t assume the way forward for autonomy in Europe ought to be a thriller,” mentioned Uhlmann. “It ought to be measurable, inspectable, and designed to earn public belief. That’s what we’ve been constructing, and now we’re able to scale it.”
