Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and a major reason why auto insurance premiums are expected to increase in 2025. For commercial fleets, this is a nightmare. But for California-based startup Netradyne, it’s a tailwind.
Netradyne provides fleet owners, including big names like Amazon, with AI-enabled cameras that collect vehicle data and video to improve driver safety, reducing accidents by about 50%, according to the company. The devices, which can be equipped with inside- and outside-view cameras, also use edge computing to send drivers real-time alerts if they’re distracted or driving dangerously, while rewarding drivers for the behavior good.
TechCrunch last reported on Netradyne’s $150 million Series C in 2021, and since then the company has expanded beyond North America and India and into Germany, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. To further that growth in Ireland and Japan in the coming months, Netradyne has just raised a $90 million Series D at a preliminary valuation of $1.35 billion, led by Point72 Private Investments with participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Pavilion Capital .
And with great expansion comes great data. Over the years, Netradyne has collected over 18 billion miles worth of data, which the company says has helped improve the product to a point of 99% alert accuracy and 25 million better compliance results.
In addition to global expansion, the new capital will go towards product improvement and increased market investment.
Today, fleets can access Netradyne’s Safety Manager Assistant, an AI-powered co-pilot that provides a natural language interface on the company portal and uses generative AI to converse about data and insights. Avneesh Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of Netradyne, told TechCrunch that the company would invest more in generative AI, adding additional use cases for its co-pilot and a “more agentic approach.”
Agrawal also noted that Netradyne would use its extensive data to develop fundamental driving models with a focus on cornering driving scenarios to improve autonomous driving technology.
“We have rich vision data that analyzes every aspect of road and driving behavior and reads various road signs. No one in the autonomous industry has this kind of data,” Agrawal said. “Our goal now is to train a driving model using generative AI to identify these edge cases.”
He added that it is not Netradyne’s goal to develop its own AV technology, but rather to collaborate with others and provide startups with data and knowledge.
Netradyne’s customers include fleets operating in online retail, food and beverage, oil and gas, utilities, construction, and more. The startup offers two main products. The first is a quad-view camera that gathers footage from the forward-facing, driver-facing and two side-facing cameras, all in one easy-to-install device. This captures driver behavior, reduces blind spots and provides evidence in the event of an accident. The second is a dual-view camera that faces both the road and the driver.
Fleet owners who need more visibility can use the Hub-X add-on, which is a dashcam add-on that supports up to four additional cameras to be placed wherever they are needed, such as facing the rear of a bus.
The startup also offers a driver monitoring solution that can be added to the quad camera to detect drowsy driving behaviors using a dedicated sensor with night detection and the ability to see through most sunglasses, according to the company .
In response to concerns about driver privacy, Agrawal says Netradyne is GDPR compliant and never provides personally identifiable driver information externally.
“Investing in Netradyne is about believing in safer roads and supporting professional drivers,” said Sri Chandrasekar, managing partner at Point72 Private Investments. “Since our initial investment in 2018, we have witnessed Netradyne’s impressive growth and believe their technology is well-positioned to not only empower fleet managers, but also foster a culture of safe driving.”
Agrawal said Netradyne has seen 65% growth in the past 12 months and expects to be net profitable in the coming year.
This article has been updated to reflect Netradyne’s new rating.
