Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition is an American software company specializing in building artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and advanced software for vehicle manufacturers. Founded in 2017 and based in Mountain View, California, Applied Intuition develops tools for the development, testing, and deployment of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) technologies in various industries, including automotive, trucking, defense, agriculture, construction, and mining. The company's products use AI technology to enable automakers to simulate driving scenarios in the development of autonomous systems.

Applied Intuition products are used by 18 of the leading 20 global automakers. In addition to automotive manufacturers, Applied Intuition has worked with companies developing self-driving trucks, self-driving taxis, and robots for use in warehouses.

In June 2025, Applied Intuition achieved a $15 billion valuation after completing a $600 million Series F funding round and tender offer. Investors include Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity Investments, Kleiner Perkins, Microsoft's venture capital arm M12, and Porsche Investments Management. With the investment by Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen joined the Applied Intuition board.

History

Applied Intuition was co-founded by Qasar Younis, a former chief operating officer at Y Combinator and group product manager at Google, and Peter Ludwig, a former Google product manager and software engineer. Both founders brought automotive industry backgrounds to the company. As they discussed in a 2021 podcast interview, Younis grew up near General Motors headquarters in Detroit, attended Kettering University (formerly General Motors Institute), and worked at GM and Bosch. Ludwig came from a Detroit family of automotive engineers and his grandfather worked at GM for more than 30 years. Before founding Applied Intuition, their criteria for creating a company included that it be a software business that addressed an immediate market need in the automotive space.

The company's first product was a motion simulator to enable AV developers to simulate, instead of road-test, certain problems that arose during the AV development process. It later created software tools intended to improve the process of developing autonomous vehicles. The company's primary offerings include a suite of simulation and testing software that enables vehicle manufacturers to create and refine AV systems by analyzing capabilities such as perception systems, vehicle dynamics, and overall software integration. This development environment enables manufacturers to simulate driving scenarios to assess safety and functionality before deploying vehicles on actual roads.

In June 2024, Applied Intuition announced an off-road autonomy stack, a software set designed to enable autonomous systems to navigate complex, unstructured terrains. This advanced technology integrates various sensors and algorithms to support off-road operations in industries such as mining, agriculture, and defense.

In 2025, Bloomberg included Applied Intuition in its list of 10 defense tech startups to watch and Fast Company included the company in its list of the most innovative companies in transportation.

In May 2025, Applied Intuition announced the launch of two new defense-focused product lines, Axion and Acuity, designed to accelerate the deployment of autonomous systems for military applications. Axion is a cloud-based development environment that enables engineers and operators to collaboratively build, test, and deploy autonomy solutions for air, land, sea, and space platforms. Acuity provides onboard autonomy software, allowing unmanned systems to perform high-risk missions with reduced need for human intervention. The products are platform-agnostic and intended to address challenges in scaling and integrating autonomous capabilities across multiple domains.

Applied Intuition's June 2025 Series F funding round, co-led by BlackRock-managed funds and Kleiner Perkins, achieved a $15 billion valuation with Franklin Templeton and Qatar Investment Authority among new investors. This represented an upround over the company's Series E round in 2024, when Applied Intuition completed a $250 million Series E funding round and a subsequent $300 million secondary offering, and achieved a valuation of $6 billion. Investors in Applied Intuition have included Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity Investments, Kleiner Perkins, Microsoft's venture capital arm M12, and Porsche Investments Management. With the investment by Andreessen Horowitz, Marc Andreessen joined the Applied Intuition board.

Partnerships

Applied Intuition has partnered with automotive manufacturers such as Porsche and Audi to develop next-generation ADAS offerings. In March 2024, Porsche announced a partnership with Applied Intuition to jointly develop various fields of automotive software. In April 2024, Applied Intuition and Audi began collaborating to develop automated driving systems designed to enhance vehicle autonomy and safety.

In August 2024, Applied Intuition and Isuzu Motors announced a partnership to develop self-driving trucks with Level 4 automation, which enables vehicles to handle most driving situations without human intervention.

In March 2025, Applied Intuition and commercial vehicle manufacturer TRATON announced a partnership to accelerate the development of software-defined trucks. The partnership will integrate Applied Intuition's Vehicle OS and developer tool chain into TRATON's truck brands, with the goal of deploying vehicle software platforms across TRATON'S global brands. The integration will support over-the-air update features and enhance fleet management capabilities.

In June 2025, Applied Intuition announced a partnership with OpenAI to integrate its technology into vehicle dashboards.

Acquisitions

In 2022 Applied Intuition acquired Mechanical Simulation Corp., a company known for its CarSim software, which is used by major automakers for simulating real-world vehicle dynamics. Mechanical Simulation also made products that support simulation for trucks, motorcycles, and powertrains.

In 2023, the company acquired SceneBox, a machine learning (ML) data management and operations platform developed by Caliber Data Labs, aimed at enhancing the training of ML models through a data-centric approach.

Also in 2023, Applied Intuition acquired autonomous trucking company Embark Trucks, a company specializing in autonomous trucking technology, for approximately $71 million.

In 2025, Applied Intuition acquired EpiSci, a military contractor known for developing autonomous vehicles for the sea and air domains. EpiSci's work includes developing unmanned air-to-air combat technologies for DARPA, unmanned surface vessels and drones for the U.S. Navy, missile tracking for the Space Development Agency, and projects advancing 5G connectivity to the moon for NASA. EpiSci’s AI software was used in the U.S. Air Force’s first successful dogfight between an AI-piloted fighter jet and a human-piloted aircraft.

References

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External links

Official website

Software companies based in Mountain View, California Software companies based in California
Software companies established in 2017
Companies based in Mountain View, California
Automotive electronics
Automotive technologies
Automotive industry
Technology companies established in 2017
Self-driving car companies
Defense companies of the United States