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ClearMotion Smooths Path To Commercialization With $115M For AI-Driven Suspension Tech

, a startup focused on giving people a smoother driving experience, has closed on a $115 million Series D.

The funding brings the Boston-based company鈥檚 to nearly $270 million since its inception in 2009, according to CEO and co-founder . In , ClearMotion said the financing was in the form of preferred stock, and led by with 鈥渟ignificant participation from clients advised by . , , , , , and also contributed to the round, according to ClearMotion.

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The company鈥檚 last raise was a $100 million February 2017 round that included participation from and a few of the firms mentioned above, namely J.P. Morgan, Qualcomm, World Innovation Lab, and Elieses Capital.)

Avadhany told me via e-mail this morning that ClearMotion company plans to use the funds toward “expanding operations, including our production facility, product development and team expansion across the U.S.” Specifically, he added that the company will be growing its data science and machine learning teams.

Per its , ClearMotion 鈥渋s built on a software-centric, electro-hydraulic core called the 鈥榓ctivalve.鈥 鈥 The company describes its offering as 鈥渢he world鈥檚 first proactive ride system鈥 and claims that it will transform 鈥渢he way your car rides and handles.鈥

So, what does that mean? ClearMotion says its aim is to mitigate road roughness in real time through a combination of software and hardware. It claims to do for motion what noise-canceling does for noise by 鈥減redicting鈥 the road via AI-driven algorithms. Its technology, the company says, senses uneven road surfaces and enables a vehicle to react.

Its trademarked road surface mapping software platform 鈥渇ingerprints鈥 road surfaces and stores the data in the cloud. Traces of road surface contours are compiled from existing vehicle sensor systems and synthesized in the cloud to 鈥減roactively鈥 improve a ride, the company says.

ClearMotion has 241 issued patents which contain over 5,000 patent claims, according to Avadhany. In its press release, ClearMotion also noted it has completed 鈥渟uccessful development programs on multiple car lines鈥 and has commissioned a pilot production facility for its first OEM launches.聽Avadhany said he can’t disclose specific customers at this point, but does expect “to have news to announce later this year.” He did say that ClearMotion has signed “a tier one” supplier (to an automotive company) and is working to ship that product in 2019.

Another car-related company is also reportedly in the midst of raising a nine-digit-round. According to , Palo Alto-based autonomous driving startup 鈥 which was founded in 2016 鈥渨ith a highly regarded executive team from , , and 鈥 鈥 is said to be valued at over $2 billion in a new fundraising round. is expected to be the lead investor in the round, which is expected to total at least $500 million, reported Recode.

Note: I updated this article post-publication with information provided by ClearMotion.

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