Clarksburg, Md.-based Forterra, which develops self-driving technology focused on defense and industrial applications, has closed a $75 million Series B round co-led by New York-based Moore Strategic Ventures, XYZ Venture Capital and London’s Hedosophia. Other backers included New York’s Standard Investments and existing investors Enlightenment Capital, Crescent Cove Advisors and Four More Capital.
“Forterra has proven that self-driving technology can be deployed today to solve real-world challenges in demanding environments,” said CEO Josh Araujo, a former Marine who was promoted to the position earlier this year.
Pentagon a Key Customer
“We are committed to improving the lives and safety of soldiers, Marines, and industrial workers, by taking people out of harm’s way with AutoDrive,” said Araujo, who previously served investment banks Jefferies and Lazard Freres. “This funding allows us to further develop, test, and deploy self-driving platforms with ever-increasing capabilities for both defense and industrial applications.” Araujo, who has been with Forterra since 2021, was previously the chief operating officer.
The new funding will enable Forterra to accelerate and scale the deployment of its AutoDrive autonomous driving system. The U.S. Department of Defense is among Forterra’s key clients, using AutoDrive for ground-based movement. Forterra’s range of products and services include a fully autonomous convoy vehicle system, commercial shuttles and transit buses, and a family of combined-mode air and ground robotic vehicles.
“We believe in the potential for autonomous technology to disrupt many high-cost, low-margin business models,” said Logan Ashcraft, principal at Standard Investments. “In its approach to both industrial and off-road autonomy, Forterra is setting a new standard for excellence across logistics, industry, and defense.”
Eye on Other Applications
Standard Investments’ parent firm, Standard Industries, is a privately held global industrial company with operations in over 80 countries. It has a range of holdings in public and private companies, with interests in performance materials, logistics, real estate and next-generation solar technology. Its portfolio companies include GAF Energy, Schiedel, and Standard Logistics.
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Over the past year, Forterra has reported significant milestones, including the first successful deployment of its autonomous driving systems on a Pentagon program called Remotely Operated Ground Unit for Expeditionary, or ROGUE, Fires, and a strategic partnership with Kalmar for production of self-driving terminal tractors.
“We can’t imagine a team better suited to take on these challenges — of everyone in the market, they have the right to win given their firsthand experience on the battlefield and interacting with government buyers,” said Ross Fubini, managing partner of XYZ Venture Capital. “They know exactly what these machines need to be capable of doing and have the acumen and connections to move fast and build the best solutions.”
Forterra, originally called Robotic Research, was founded in 2002 by Chairman Alberto Lacaze, a robotics expert with over 100 patents. Alberto holds B.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology, and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University. He was previously a staff engineer at the National Institute of Standards and Technology .
