Image: Ghost Autonomy
The start-up raised a significant amount of funding over the years, but may have shifted its focus too many times as it failed to find the right path to long-term profitability.
Ghost Autonomy, the aptly named automation software start-up, has ceased worldwide operations only five months after partnering with OpenAI.
The company formerly known as Ghost Locomotion shared the news on its website, which now only shows a notice that the company wound down yesterday (3 April). The start-up claimed the path to long-term profitability was “uncertain” due to the current funding climate and the “long-term investment required for autonomy development and commercialisation”.
The company also said it is exploring “long-term destinations” for the innovations it made to date.
“We are proud of the substantial technical innovations and progress the Ghost team made on its mission to deliver software-defined consumer autonomy,” the company said. “Thank you to the employees, investors and partners who helped us bring the vision of Ghost to life.”
Towards the end of 2023, Ghost joined the OpenAI Start-up Fund to gain access to the AI company’s systems and a $5m investment. The start-up also gained access to Microsoft Azure resources from this deal, TechCrunch reported.
The start-up also gained access to a substantial amount of funding over the years, including $55m funding round in 2023 according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
What went wrong?
While the start-up claims that it struggled to see a path to long-term profitability, the reason for this issue could be linked to Ghost’s shifting goals over the years.
The company was originally focused on creating software that would allow private vehicles to drive autonomously on highways, but this focus changed to crash prevention technology in 2021 – after it raised $100m in a Series D funding round.
But Ghost’s focus towards the end of its life had shifted again, as the company said it would explore the potential of large language models in the self-driving sector – further explaining the decision to team up with OpenAI. Experts speaking to TechCrunch last year were skeptical of the start-up’s approach.
The collapse of Ghost Autonomy is another tale of failure in the difficult self-driving sector, which has seen various set-backs from high-profile companies in recent years. Apple recently hit the brakes on its own secret autonomous vehicle project known as Project Titan.
Meanwhile, sentiment for self-driving vehicles took a hit in the US last year after a robotaxi owned by Cruise dragged and pinned down a hit-and-run victim in San Francisco. This incident was the final straw that caused Cruise to lose its self-driving license in California.
But other companies are making moves to expand in the sector. Alphabet-owned Waymo has been expanding its operations in recent months and plans to make its robotaxis available to the public in four US cities by the end of the year.
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