Pulse News

**Self-Driving Software Supplier Applied Intuition in Talks for Funding at $15 Billion Valuation**

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Sri Muppidi, and Alex Perry

Mar 11, 2025, 8:27pm PDT

Qasar Younis, co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition. Photo via Getty.

Applied Intuition, an eight-year-old developer of simulation software for training self-driving vehicles, is in talks with investors to raise capital at a $15 billion valuation, more than double its valuation from a year ago, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions. Existing investor Kleiner Perkins is in talks to lead the round.

The potential fundraising would follow a bumper year for the Mountain View, Calif., company. It generated roughly $400 million annual recurring revenue as of the end of last year, double the ARR figure from a year earlier, according to a second person with direct knowledge and a potential investor.

**The Takeaway**

- Software developer's annual recurring revenue passed $400 million late last year

- Existing investor Kleiner Perkins in talks to lead round

- Company sells software to train self-driving vehicles

That implies that the company is generating more than $33 million a month in revenue. The funding round is expected to total hundreds of millions of dollars and could be a mix of equity financing and the sale of existing shares, known as a secondary transaction, according to the people with direct knowledge. The company did not respond to immediate requests for comment, and details of the round have not been finalized.

The startup's fast revenue growth suggests rising demand for the software that underpins self-driving cars, which are becoming a commercial reality in some cities, thanks to Alphabet's robotaxi subsidiary Waymo. Recent progress on Tesla's full self-driving feature, in addition to Elon Musk's plans to launch a robotaxi service soon, has put the pressure on carmakers to make their assisted driving products more competitive.

Applied Intuition sells software for advanced driver-assistance systems as well as tools to train and run autonomous driving models. Applied Intuition says it sells software to large auto manufacturers like Toyota, Nissan, and Porsche.

The startup's simulation software creates scenarios that self-driving vehicles may encounter, such as a bear crossing a road or downed traffic signs. It helps autonomous vehicle companies test for rare situations, also known as edge cases, that are harder or expensive to collect manually.

Kodiak Robotics, an autonomous trucking company, says it has used Applied Intuition to generate fully simulated three-dimensional scenarios and to test how its autonomous trucking model responds to a car that suddenly drives onto the shoulder. The scenario would direct the truck to adjust lanes to give the stopped car extra space.

Applied Intuition is attracting investors with above-average metrics. Last year, the company's gross margin—gross profit as a percentage of revenue—was roughly 80%, the company has told potential investors. That's above the 77% margin of public software as a service companies tracked by Meritech Capital. Applied Intuition's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin as a percentage of revenue was roughly between 20% and 30% last year, it's told investors. That's higher than the 16% median of operating profit margins, according to Meritech.

Applied Intuition was founded by Qasar Younis, former chief operating officer of Y Combinator, and Peter Ludwig, a former Google product manager. The startup says it has become one of the main providers of simulation software for self-driving vehicles, powering 18 out of 20 global automotive manufacturers.

In recent years it has expanded into defense and space to power AI-powered autonomy for warfighting vehicles, such as drones. In February, it announced its acquisition of EpiSys Science, which develops AI and autonomy software for the defense industry, such as uncrewed maritime tracking and battle management.

Applied Intuition last year raised $250 million in funding at a valuation of $6 billion in a deal led by returning investors Lux Capital, venture capitalist Elad Gil, as well as Porsche Investments Management. In July, the startup arranged a $300 million secondary round that allowed existing investors to sell their stakes to other investors, such as Fidelity Management.