The Leipzig-based start-up Kopernikus Auto, founded in 2016 by Tim von Törne and Stefan Jenzowsky, has been acquired by Ford. Kopernikus Auto is the only German start-up developing technology for autonomous cars at Level 4. Conti had invested in Kopernikus in 2021 and then again in 2023.
The company very quickly focused on developing a technology that allowed the vehicle to be controlled by a computer driver and cameras outside the vehicle. At CES 2022, the startup demonstrated how the “garage” in which the driver technology was installed drives the vehicle to a free parking space. A project was also carried out with Porsche and other manufacturers in which vehicles are automatically guided from a parking space to the garage.
The technology is suitable for use in manufacturing, where instead of thousands of human drivers driving the vehicles coming off the assembly line to the loading points, this is now done by sensors installed in the factory and on the company premises and an automated digital driver.
In any case, it is interesting to note that California has at times had more than 70 companies with a license to test autonomous vehicles on public roads, including at least 40 start-ups, while the country that invented the automobile has only produced a single start-up in this sector. Not only that: none of the domestic manufacturers were interested in acquiring the startup.
Following the discontinuation of Argo.AI, which was operated jointly with Volkswagen, Ford has now invested in this technology once again. If Ford were to integrate the technology into its vehicles and use it in and after production, allowing the cars to drive autonomously through the factory premises, this would also be one of the largest rollouts of autonomous driving technology in the world.
The only big change for the founders and employees: the company swapped the K for a C and is now called Copernikus Auto!
This article was also published in German.
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