Samsara Launches Investment Fund for Industry Startups
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AUSTIN, Texas — In addition to expanding its own product offerings, Samsara is investing in other technology companies that are developing innovative products and services aimed at improving safety, efficiency and sustainability in connected operations.
The fleet telematics provider announced a new investment fund, Samsara Ventures, to provide seed funding for startups that could integrate with Samsara’s growing technology ecosystem.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned when it comes to innovation,” Samsara CEO and co-founder Sanjit Biswas said at the company’s annual customer conference.
Along with monetary investments, Samsara Ventures will provide mentorship from Samsara’s leadership team, access to Samsara’s customers and industry partners, and offer the opportunity to build products that connect with Samsara’s Connected Operations Cloud.
We’re leaving no stone unturned when it comes to innovation.
Samsara CEO Sanjit Biswas
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At the conference, Samsara highlighted its support for next-generation fuel card provider AtoB, electric vehicle-charging payment company Bluedot, and Hubble Network, a global satellite network that connects Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Another Samsara-backed venture is Polymath Robotics, which is developing automated driving technology for off-road vehicles such as articulated dump trucks, bulldozers and agricultural equipment, enabling them to drive themselves or be operated remotely.
.@Samsara has launched Samsara Ventures to seed fund new technology companies and support further innovation in connected operations. #SamsaraBeyond pic.twitter.com/2hlMt2Ycuo — Seth Clevenger (@SethClevenger) June 22, 2023
During the conference, Polymath CEO and co-founder Stefan Seltz-Axmacher presented a demonstration of the technology by remotely operating an unmanned agricultural tractor on a private site in Modesto, Calif.
Remote operators can control vehicles from a mobile device such as an iPad or iPhone, he said, adding that Polymath also has integrated the teleoperations capabilities with the Samsara platform.
“You can issue commands to these vehicles directly from Samsara,” said Seltz-Axmacher, who previously developed autonomous driving and teleoperation technology for on-highway tractors at his previous startup, Starsky Robotics, which shut down in 2020.
Check out our CEO @StefanESA showing off our autonomous test tractor today LIVE onstage at @Samsara Beyond '23!
(thanks to our friends @FormantInc for the interface)#Robotics #AutonomousVehicles pic.twitter.com/mUhX2Qzmv5 — Polymath Robotics (@PolymathRobots) June 22, 2023
Polymath, much like that prior venture, aims to use teleoperation technology to create safer jobs and more home time for workers through remote operation, but by automating off-highway vehicles instead of on-highway trucks.
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