Continental acquires a minority stake in Israeli start-up Cartica AI

Continental has acquired a minority stake in Israeli start-up company Cartica AI. Cartica AI develops software in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

The solutions from Cartica AI are designed to accelerate machine learning in the field of object recognition. In the future, automotive systems for automated and autonomous driving will be able to adapt to and handle new traffic situations more quickly. The parties have agreed not to disclose the investment amount.

Continental already uses technologies from the field of artificial intelligence for object recognition in advanced driver assistance systems. The sensor data and images are used to identify road traffic objects with the aid of the software in the vehicle control units. The calculation of driving strategy is subsequently based on this environment recognition. Up to now, the corresponding systems for object recognition have had to be manually and extensively trained: every traffic situation and every object on the road first needs to be classified and designated by a human. This is a very time-consuming and cost-intensive process, especially for safety-relevant applications.

With Cartica AI's AI-based software solution, much less manual input will be required. With the aid of Cartica AI software, Continental sees a great opportunity for new vehicle systems from various companies and manufacturers to be prepared for use on the road more quickly in the future. This is how Cartica AI could work on the rapid development of object recognition for the entire industry.

“Cartica AI offers the opportunity for faster production of AI projects in the automotive sector. It could be an alternative to lengthy and complex human safeguards in the area of data quality in machine learning,” explained Demetrio Aiello, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at Continental.

“Continental's investment in Cartica AI underscores its strategy of becoming an AI-empowered company. To this end, we already rely on nearly 500 AI experts within the company. In addition, we have established an intensive scientific network in the field of AI through our partnerships with international research institutes. The investment in Cartica AI as a risk capital provider now forms the third pillar of our activities in the AI environment. This is where we support promising AI companies,” concluded Aiello.

At the same time, Continental's minority stake is a signal for the technology company to the entire industry. Continental's aim is to make the Cartica AI software available to the entire automotive industry and thus promote the rapid implementation of AI technologies for the safe mobility of the future. From Continental's point of view, this, together with the worldwide distribution of advanced driver assistance systems, represents a building block for the realisation of accident-free road traffic in a healthy mobility ecosystem.