Uber has confirmed the acquisition of Segments.ai, a Belgian startup that develops multi-sensor labeling tools for self-driving cars, drones, trucks, and autonomous robots.
The news was first shared by Segments.ai’s CEO, Otto Debals, in a LinkedIn post. Meanwhile, in a separate post, Uber AI Solutions, the company’s AI data services arm, stated that the deal reflects its focus on strengthening lidar and multi-sensor data annotation.
The company highlighted that it has been working on this for almost a decade, applying labels to real-world data to advance autonomy, safety, and AI. “We are continuing to double down on our lidar and multi-sensor data annotation capabilities as we serve customers globally,” the company stated.
Following the acquisition, the Segments.ai team will join Uber AI Solutions, under Megha’s leadership within Gus’s Core Services unit, to speed up the development of advanced annotation tools for robotics and autonomous technologies.
Founded in 2020 by Otto Debals and Bert De Brabandere, Segments.ai offers a data labeling platform designed for training autonomous systems such as robots and self-driving vehicles. Its cloud platform and API cut down the manual work of labeling large datasets by providing efficient tools, automated suggestions, and smart learning features.
Y Combinator (W21) accepted Segments.ai as its first Belgian company, and the startup has since grown into a cashflow-positive business with customers worldwide. Its annotation platform has supported projects ranging from autonomous tractors to futuristic delivery drones.
Merus Capital, Volta Ventures, and Y Combinator partners Nicolas Dessaigne, Dalton Caldwell, and Harj Taggar backed the company, with additional support from Start it Accelerate | KBC, angel investors, and advisors.
