Daimler Truck Subsidiary Agrees to Acquire Algolux

Torc Robotics, an independent subsidiary of Daimler Truck and a pioneer in the commercialization of autonomous vehicle technology, has recently signed an agreement to acquire Algolux Inc. Torc will acquire the company due to its award-winning intellectual property rights and expertise in the fields of computer vision and machine learning.

(Blacksburg, VA, USA / Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Germany) “On the path to launching our redundant Freightliner Cascadia with Torc’s virtual driver software, safety is our top priority. We believe that Algolux’s object detection technology can bring us closer to our goal of safely and reliably bringing autonomous trucks to market in the USA at SAE Level 4 within this decade,” says Joanna Buttler, Head of Autonomous Technology Group at Daimler Truck AG.

“We are very excited to welcome Algolux to the Torc family,” says Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO of Torc. “The Algolux technology, combining deep learning, computer vision, and computer-generated imagery, will help Torc further develop one of the key technical capabilities for the launch of autonomous trucks.”

“Torc shares our commitment to developing robust technologies to harness the potential of autonomous driving and save lives. This is one of many reasons why the merger of our companies makes sense,” says Allan Benchetrit, Algolux President and CEO. “The established Algolux team, with deep expertise in artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and object detection, complements the already experienced Torc engineering team.”

Algolux has been repeatedly recognized for its outstanding achievements in digital object detection and was named to the CB Insights AI 100 list of the world’s most innovative startups in artificial intelligence in 2021. Torc has been closely collaborating with the company for over a year to develop several object detection concepts and methods to robustly improve object detection and distance estimation while evaluating synergies between the two companies. Reliable object detection technology is key to supporting the autonomous Torc system in accurately identifying objects under challenging visual conditions such as darkness, fog, or adverse weather conditions. The Algolux software is currently in use in Freightliner Cascadia testing vehicles in the USA and is being utilized at Torc in software development.

“This acquisition combines the Algolux end-to-end AI stack, from photons to behavioral mechanisms, with Torc’s groundbreaking autonomous driving technology. Adding a tightly integrated OEM truck platform creates a true win-win scenario,” says Felix Heide, CTO of Algolux. “While many see autonomous transport as purely a future topic, this promising collaboration will help bring a commercially viable and safe long-haul application to market on a large scale.”

Algolux is headquartered in Montreal, Canada, with offices in Palo Alto, California, and Munich. The transaction is subject to the fulfillment of specified closing conditions, including all necessary regulatory approvals.

Photo: © Daimler Truck AG / Image Caption: Allan Benchetrit, President and CEO of Algolux, and Peter Vaughan Schmidt, CEO of Torc, on the day of the signing of the planned corporate merger.