TL;DR:
- Secondmind expands strategic partnership with Mazda to address engineering complexity in automotive design.
- Focus on R&D and deploying solutions for systems engineering and validation processes.
- Goal: Unlock time and cost efficiencies through increased virtualization in design and development.
- Mazda joins a $16 million funding round in Secondmind, emphasizing support for AI innovation.
- Funding to scale sales, marketing, and develop Secondmind’s Optimization Engine.
- The partnership builds on over three years of collaboration, with a focus on advanced AI research.
- Strategic alliance to bring advanced AI solutions to automotive engineering.
- Industry leaders and investors express confidence in Secondmind’s potential.
Main AI News:
In a move that signals a significant step forward in the automotive industry, Secondmind has announced the expansion of its longstanding strategic partnership with Mazda. This partnership aims to harness the power of advanced AI to tackle the growing complexities of engineering in vehicle design and development. With a focus on research and development (R&D) and the deployment of cutting-edge solutions, the goal is clear: unlock time and cost efficiencies through enhanced virtualization in design and development, all while targeting strategic applications with formidable complexity barriers.
As a testament to the strength of this partnership, Mazda has joined a new $16 million funding round in Secondmind, alongside existing investors such as Amadeus Capital Partners, Atlantic Bridge Ventures, and Cambridge Innovation Capital. This financial backing underscores the strong support for Secondmind’s leadership, innovative Active Learning technology, product differentiation, and promising prospects in the automotive sector.
This new funding infusion, which includes the conversion of a Future Fund note, will enable Secondmind to scale key aspects of its business. It will involve ramping up sales and marketing efforts while accelerating the development of the company’s award-winning, cloud-native Secondmind Optimization Engine.
The extension of this strategic partnership builds upon more than three years of fruitful collaboration, with Mazda intensifying its support for advanced AI research and education. Secondmind, in turn, will serve as a guide to the Cambridge AI ecosystem, facilitating the integration of more advanced AI solutions into automotive engineering—a pivotal aspect of this partnership.
Gary Brotman, Chief Executive Officer at Secondmind, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Secondmind and Mazda have been aligned from day one around a common goal of enabling continuous optimization of vehicle design and performance and helping the automotive industry deliver in the era of the software-defined vehicle. This expanded strategic partnership agreement strengthens our long-standing relationship of deep collaboration, and we are proud to support Mazda in opening new avenues for AI innovation in automotive engineering.”
Naohito Saga, Executive Officer in charge of R&D strategy planning at Mazda, added, “The automotive industry needs to further accelerate the speed and efficiency of development due to the diversification of market needs and the increasing sophistication and complexity of technology, and we hope that our partnership with Secondmind will bring out-of-the-box thinking and innovative technology to Mazda.”
Hermann Hauser, Co-Founder and Venture Partner at Amadeus Capital Partners, emphasized their belief in Secondmind’s mission, stating, “We had backed Secondmind since its earliest stages when it was one of the first companies we found developing practical applications for AI. Still true to this mission, Secondmind’s strategic focus on the automotive industry has proven highly successful.”
Kevin Dillon, Managing Partner at Atlantic Bridge Ventures, echoed the sentiment, saying, “As a major investor in Secondmind since 2017, Atlantic Bridge Ventures remains committed to helping the company capitalize on strong demand for its ground-breaking machine learning solutions for precision engineering.”
Ian Lane, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital, praised Secondmind’s mission and the expansion of their partnership with Mazda, emphasizing the significance of Cambridge’s role in accelerating the automotive industry’s transition towards a carbon-neutral future.
Conclusion:
The deepening partnership between Secondmind and Mazda signifies a significant advancement in the automotive industry. By leveraging advanced AI technology to streamline engineering complexities, this collaboration aims to revolutionize vehicle design and development. The infusion of funding and support from industry leaders demonstrates a strong belief in the potential of AI-driven innovation in automotive engineering, positioning both companies at the forefront of the market’s transformation towards a more efficient and sophisticated future.
