Sonatus Raises $35M to Advance Automotive Software

Sonatus Secures $35 Million Series A Funding to Advance In-Vehicle Data Infrastructure

Sonatus, an automotive software firm headquartered in California, has successfully completed a $35 million Series A funding round. The investment was spearheaded by prominent entities within the technology and automotive sectors, including Kia Corporation, a division of Hyundai Motor Group, SAIC Capital, and LG Electronics.

Investment Details and Future Plans

Translink Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm, took the lead in this funding round. Additional investors participating included Marvell Technology, UMC Capital, and Wanxiang Group Company. According to Jeff Chou, CEO and co-founder of Sonatus, the newly acquired capital will be strategically allocated to bolster brand recognition through marketing initiatives.

Furthermore, the funds will facilitate the establishment of new partnerships with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and the expansion of the company’s engineering and support teams.

Transforming Vehicles into "Data Centers on Wheels"

Sonatus is focused on providing the foundational infrastructure necessary to transform vehicles into sophisticated “data centers on wheels.” This capability enables extensive data collection, the deployment of innovative applications, and the addition of new functionalities to automobiles.

Core Product Components: The company’s offering comprises two key elements – an in-vehicle component and a cloud-based component – designed to operate in synergy.

The in-vehicle system empowers OEMs to gather any data generated by the vehicle, regardless of its source. This includes data originating from the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, the infotainment head unit, or any network traffic traversing in-vehicle networks like Ethernet. The software can be configured to collect specific data points at designated times, as directed by the OEM.

The cloud component establishes a connection with all vehicles utilizing Sonatus’s architecture. It then receives, stores, and analyzes the collected data, making it accessible to both the OEM’s data science teams and their collaborative partners.

Production Readiness and Initial Deployment

Sonatus reports that its first-generation product is currently in production with a leading global automaker, with a formal announcement anticipated in the coming weeks.

The company achieved significant growth organically, initially operating without external investment. “We expanded from a small team to over 50 employees without any initial funding,” stated Chou. “We are now launching and in mass production, with our software already integrated into vehicles in OEM dealer showrooms.”

Drivetrain Agnostic and the Rise of Electrification

While the initial deployment of Sonatus’s product will be within a combustion engine vehicle, the technology is designed to be drivetrain-agnostic. Chou believes the ongoing electrification of the automotive industry is creating favorable conditions for the company.

The shift towards electric vehicles is prompting OEMs to re-evaluate in-vehicle architectures and become more receptive to adopting cutting-edge technologies.

Hyundai’s Investment in Future Automotive Technologies

Hyundai, one of Sonatus’s investors, is actively investing in a broad spectrum of automotive technologies. Through 2025, the automaker plans to allocate $20.5 billion (KRW 23.5 trillion) to future technologies, encompassing electrification, connectivity, autonomous driving, fuel cell technology, Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and robotics, as noted by Henry Chung, SVP and head of Hyundai CRADLE Silicon Valley.

Addressing Technological Debt in Automotive Systems

Chung emphasized that much of the technology currently found in vehicles is decades old, particularly in communication systems. He highlighted the substantial advancements in data center technology over the past four to five decades and the necessity of integrating these innovations into vehicles.

The Need for Modern Infrastructure: “Vehicles are now essentially supercomputers on wheels, generating vast amounts of data from sensors and software algorithms. Delivering the services and value-added functions that consumers demand requires a robust supporting infrastructure, and that’s precisely what Sonatus provides. This development is significantly overdue.”

Enabling Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication

Sonatus’s architecture is designed to facilitate the implementation of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technology. V2X enables communication between vehicles and surrounding infrastructure, enhancing driver assistance systems and potentially paving the way for fully autonomous driving.

“Our edge cloud architecture delivers this capability for vehicles, with the ‘edge’ being the vehicle itself, rather than a traditional data center,” explained Chou.

Secure Data Management and Remote Feature Updates

Sonatus’s data center is engineered with a high level of security. Its architecture allows automakers to remotely add features, manage vehicle usage data, and resolve issues more rapidly and efficiently. This is achieved without relying on traditional over-the-air (OTA) software updates, which can be time-consuming and require complete uploads.

Instead, automakers can transmit specific messages to enact changes in real-time. “For example, if a potential brake issue is detected in vehicles shipped to North America, an immediate update can be sent to gather real-time data on braking and engine performance in affected models during an accident,” Chou illustrated. “This data collection can be triggered based on specific criteria, without requiring a full OTA update – what we refer to as codeless updates.”

Future Applications and Autonomous Technology

The extensive data access provided by Sonatus offers numerous benefits to OEMs, particularly as they continue to innovate. While the company is currently focused on data infrastructure, it envisions future applications involving the collection and analysis of data to support the development of autonomous driving technology.

However, Chou indicated that these plans are currently under consideration and not yet actively pursued.