Honda Motor-backed Helm.ai has unveiled a camera-based system, Helm.ai Vision, to interpret urban environments and has said it is in talks with other auto makers to deploy its self-driving technology in mass-market vehicles. The company has raised US$102m to date.
Helm.ai is working with the Japanese auto maker to integrate its technology in the upcoming 2026 Honda Zero series of electric vehicles, which will enable users to drive hands-free and take their eyes off the road.
“We’re definitely in talks with many OEMs and we’re on track for deploying our technology in production,” said Vladislav Voroninski, CEO and founder, Helm.ai. “Our business model is essentially licensing this kind of software and also foundation model software to the auto makers.”
The startup is primarily vision-focused. Helm.ai Vision combines images from multiple cameras to create a bird’s-eye view map, which helps improve the vehicle’s planning and control systems, the company said.
The system is optimized for several hardware platforms made by the likes of Nvidia and Qualcomm. This enables auto makers to incorporate Helm.ai Vision into their existing vehicle systems, which include their own technologies for predicting and planning vehicle movements.
In related news, a leading global auto maker has become the first to select Mobileye’s imaging radar as a key component of its upcoming eyes-off, hands-off automated driving system in personal vehicles. Read the full story here