TomTom Navigates With Autonomos Acquisition

Once known for GPS devices, TomTom is looking to embrace the driverless-vehicle trend, full speed ahead.

Navigation system company TomTom, which is based in Amsterdam, has steered to an acquisition of Berlin-based, self-driving startup Autonomos.

While the numbers spent on the purchase of the company have yet to be disclosed, according to a release from TomTom, the company sees this buy as an initiative that will strengthen its position in the autonomous driving world.

“This is an important development for TomTom as it will help us to continue to strengthen our capabilities for the future of driving and expand our knowledge and expertise,” Harold Goddijn, CEO and cofounder of TomTom, said in statement.

Founded in 2012, Autonomos has worked on self-driving-related projects in Germany while also building up technologies like a demonstration-level autonomous driving software, 3-D sensor concepts and digital image processing. Many of the projects have been based at the Free University of Berlin. The acquisition includes previous projects together, including the DARPA Grand Challenge competitions.

The intentions for next steps, according to the release, with the two companies working together involve enhancing map-based products for driverless-vehicles and working on TomTom’s RoadDNA and other cloud and navigation services.

Just over a year ago, PYMNTS reported that TomTom became one of the earlier adopters of telematics and that its Big Data unit, TomTom Telematics, was putting this capability to use for fleet managers in Europe. Reports said TomTom Telematics has struck a new partnership with oil giant Shell to provide corporates with a holistic fleet and fuel management tool.