Best Auto Tech Companies in San Jose, United States
The 71 best Auto Tech companies in San Jose, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Archer.
Our analysis of 69 Auto Tech companies
$46.2b in tracked funding; 92% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Auto Tech companies in San Jose
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Employees | Founder | Tech stack | Web popularity | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Archer 🦄 Developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for commercial use 67Funding top 18%Partners top 21%Growth top 24%Tech top 25% All 12 signals ▾Fundingtop 18% Partnerstop 21% Growthtop 24% Techtop 25% Innovationtop 28% Moattop 31% Producttop 32% Newstop 34% Markettop 47% Globalbottom 46% Talentbottom 40% Fin. healthbottom 26% Funding: Raised $1.5B across 5 rounds · 5 rounds over 3 yrs (1.7/yr) Partners: 3 partnership announcements in 12 mo (6 in 24 mo) · 15 contract events in 12 mo rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 67/100 | $1.5B | 6 mo ago | 424 | Brett Adcock Co-Founder | PrismicApple iCloud MailNode.js+19 | Top 5M | — | 1 job opening |
| 2 | WeRide 🦄 AI-driven autonomous vehicle technologies 76Funding top 18%News top 22%Product top 26%Talent top 28% All 14 signals ▾Fundingtop 18% Newstop 22% Producttop 26% Talenttop 28% AItop 30% Partnerstop 32% Markettop 35% Moattop 35% Techtop 36% Fin. healthtop 38% Growthtop 44% Globaltop 50% Innovationbottom 39% Patentsbottom 39% Funding: Raised $1.1B across 5 rounds · 5 rounds over 9 yrs (0.6/yr) News: 50 BI events in 12 mo (of 93 tracked, 8 types) · +117% YoY rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 76/100 | $1.1B | 10 mo ago | 107 | Tony Han Co-Founder & CEO | DrupalApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+27 | Top 5M | 32 patents Advanced perception, mapping, and speed control systems for autonomous vehicles | 2 partnerships · 1 expansion · 1 award |
| 3 | QuantumScape Developer of solid-state lithium-metal battery technology for electric vehicle applications | $1.0B | 69 mo ago | 850 850 → 672 (-21%) | Timothy Holme Co-Founder & CTO | DrupalApple iCloud MailPHP+28 | Top 5M | 285 patents Solid-state lithium‑ion batteries: garnet electrolytes, sulfide electrodes, thermal management. | 1 partnership |
| 4 | AutoX AI-enabled platform offering solutions for self-drive vehicles and grocery delivery services | $267M | 74 mo ago | 57 | Jianxiong Xiao Founder & CEO | Amazon Web ServicesSwiperjQuery+4 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 5 | Velodyne Lidar Provider of LiDAR-based sensors for autonomous vehicles | $200M | 52 mo ago | 365 365 → 372 (+2%) | David Hall Founder & CEO | — | — | 416 patents Advanced 3D lidar sensing, signal processing, and APD protection for autonomous systems | 2 launchs · 1 partnership |
| 6 | Sibros Developer of end-to-end connected vehicle ecosystem 62Funding top 26%Moat top 31%Tech top 36%Growth top 37% All 10 signals ▾Fundingtop 26% Moattop 31% Techtop 36% Growthtop 37% Newstop 41% AItop 45% Talenttop 45% Producttop 49% Globalbottom 45% Marketbottom 36% Funding: Raised $85.5M across 4 rounds · 4 rounds over 7 yrs (0.6/yr) Moat: Editorial + unicorn rating 8/10 · Soonicorn rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 62/100 | $86M | 5 mo ago | 39 | Mayank Sikaria Co-Founder | WebflowApple iCloud MailGoogle Workspace+28 | Top 5M | — | — |
| 7 | Sakuu Provider of AI-enabled desktop 3D battery printers for automotive applications | $68M | 33 mo ago | 63 | Robert Bagheri Co-Founder & CEO | SentryNode.jsUbuntu+12 | Top 10M | 133 patents Advanced powder-based additive manufacturing and hybrid solid-state battery technologies | 1 award |
| 8 | Ethernovia Provider of in-vehicle network-related middleware solutions to the OEMs 62Innovation top 25%Funding top 27%Patents top 28%Moat top 28% All 10 signals ▾Innovationtop 25% Fundingtop 27% Patentstop 28% Moattop 28% Talenttop 28% Growthtop 35% Techbottom 42% Newsbottom 42% Globalbottom 39% Marketbottom 37% Innovation: 49 patents (top 36% of patent-holders) · 45 filings since 2022 vs 4 in 2017-21 Funding: Raised $64.0M across 2 rounds · 2 rounds over 3 yrs (0.7/yr) rank vs industry peers · Fliar Intelligence Index 62/100 | $64M | 5 mo ago | 62 | Darren Engelkemier Co-Founder | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+18 | Top 10M | 49 patents Hardware-accelerated data serialization, safety‑critical communication, and test interfaces for digital systems | 1 launch |
| 9 | Aviva Links AI-enabled platform offering connectivity solutions for autonomous driving | $33M | 57 mo ago | 23 23 → 30 (+30%) | Hiok-Tiaq Ng Co-Founder | WordPressMySQLPHP+17 | Top 50M | 3 patents Patents concentrated in electrical & electronics | — |
| 10 | Wrightspeed Developer of powertrain system for electric vehicles | $29M | 81 mo ago | 25 | — | — | — | 23 patents Advanced electric vehicle powertrain management, wheel drive, and dynamics control systems | — |
| 11 | Imagry Provider of autonomous driving software solution | $29M | 48 mo ago | 100 | Majed Jubeh Founder At Imagry | WordPress Block EditorWordPressMySQL+29 | Top 10M | — | — |
| 12 | Kukui Local marketing management platform for auto repair shops | $29M | 84 mo ago | 81 81 → 190 (+135%) | — | DudaNginxSnowplow Analytics+27 | Top 5M | — | 1 launch |
| 13 | Drivemode App-based digital assistance for driver | $12M | 111 mo ago | 9 | Yo Koga Chief Executive Officer | Apple iCloud MailGoogle WorkspaceApache HTTP Server+5 | Top 10M | 8 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 14 | SpeedInfo Traffic data using solar powered doppler radar combined with wireless network | $7M | 233 mo ago | 7 | — | — | — | 4 patents Self-powered vehicle speed sensors and integrated digital mapping for automotive telemetry. | — |
| 15 | Roviero Provider of AI-based robots for e-vehicle charging | $7M | 63 mo ago | 6 | — | — | — | 6 patents Patents concentrated in computing, sensing & instrumentation | — |
| 16 | Zadar Labs Developer of AI-enabled radar system for autonomous vehicles | $6M | 64 mo ago | 14 14 → 21 (+50%) | Mahmoud Saadat Co-founder & CEO | Cart FunctionalitySquarespace CommerceSquarespace+28 | Top 5M | 17 patents Advanced adaptive MIMO radar signal processing and high‑resolution beamforming technologies. | 1 expansion |
| 17 | Energous Provider of RF-based charging solutions | $6M | 101 mo ago | 45 45 → 47 (+4%) | — | DrupalApple iCloud MailPHP+29 | Top 10M | 759 patents Wireless power transfer systems, antenna designs, and safety/communication technologies. | 1 award |
| 18 | Displayride AI-powered and SaaS-driven provider of surveillance monitoring solutions for ridesharing companies | $1M | 72 mo ago | 5 | Navin Jethani Co-Founder & CTO | WordPress Block EditorElementorMaster Slider+29 | Top 50M | — | — |
| 19 | Green Light Labs Platform aims to convince users to switch to electric vehicles | $325K | 81 mo ago | — | Samveg Saxena Co-Founder | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Electrun Online platform offering charging solutions | $200K | 39 mo ago | 5 | Gokmen Kilincarslan Founder & CEO | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | OmniPreSense Short-range radar sensors for traffic monitoring, drones, robotics, and IoT | $120K | 96 mo ago | 7 | — | Cart FunctionalityWooCommerceWordPress+24 | Top 10M | 2 patents Radar-based concealed weapon detection systems for security and defense | — |
Top 12 Auto Tech companies in San Jose
#1
Archer 🦄Public · San Jose, California · founded 2018 · 424 employees$1.5Braised▾
Developer of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for commercial use. The company focuses on aircraft certification, safety, and defense applications. It provides updates through its newsroom and offers various resources. These resources include information for investors, media, and potential employees.
- Dec 2025Post IPO—
- Jun 2025Post IPO$850M
- Dec 2024Post IPO$430M
- Aug 2024Post IPO$220M
#2
WeRide 🦄Public · San Jose, California · founded 2017 · 107 employees$1.1Braised▾
AI-driven autonomous vehicle technologies. It provides solutions for autonomous vehicles that are enabled by both software and hardware. Real-time localization, mapping, sensor-fused perception, AI-algorithm-enabled planning, simulation test data for autonomous vehicles, and more are among the mobility solutions it provides. By combining OEM and mobility service platforms, it provides robo-taxi mobility solutions.
- Aug 2025Post IPO—
- Mar 2022Series D$400M
- Dec 2021Series C—
- Jun 2021Series C$330M
#3
Series B · San Jose, California · founded 2018 · 39 employees$85.5Mraised▾
Sibros Technology seeks to develop an end-to-end connected vehicle ecosystem. Offers cloud and on-vehicle systems for OTA software updates & vehicle data logging, vehicle diagnostics, fleet management, AI-powered analytics, and work order management. Claims to support integrations with other connected vehicle platforms using industry-standard protocols and frameworks.
- Jan 2026Series B$9M
- Nov 2022Series B—
- Jan 2022Series B$70M
- Jul 2020Series A$12M
#4
Series B · San Jose, California · founded 2018 · 62 employees$64Mraised▾
Provider of in-vehicle network-related middleware solutions to the OEMs. The platform offers solutions like ADAS, ECU-consolidation, high-performance computing, vehicle data networks, and more.
- Jan 2026Series B$90M
- May 2023Series A$64M
#5
Series C · San Jose, California · founded 2016 · 63 employees$68Mraised▾
Provider of AI-enabled desktop 3D battery printers for automotive applications. It develops solid-state batteries for diversified applications using additive manufacturing technology. It also offers a platform to design and develop cellphone batteries and automotive components, such as batteries, pathogen detection microreactors, and IoT-based sensors.
- Aug 2023Series C$6M
- Oct 2021Series C$62M
- Aug 2021Series A—
- Jan 2021Series A$14M
#6
Public · San Jose, California · founded 2010 · 850 employees$1Braised▾
Developer of solid-state lithium-metal battery technology for electric vehicle applications. The company focuses on next-generation batteries designed for greater energy density and faster charging. The technology aims to enhance safety to support the transition to a lower carbon future. The company developed an anode-less cell design to deliver high energy density.
- Sep 2020Post IPO$500M
- May 2020Series C—
- Sep 2018Series C$100M
- 2010Series A—
#7
Public · San Jose, California · founded 1983 · 365 employees$200Mraised▾
Provider of LiDAR-based sensors for autonomous vehicles. It offers LiDAR-based sensors for autonomous vehicles and driver assistance systems. It offers various LiDAR-based directional, close, and surround sensors that can be used for robotics, navigation, and mapping. Its product portfolio includes surrounding sensors, solid-state sensors, and software solutions.
- Feb 2022Post IPO—
- Oct 2019PE$50M
- Aug 2016PE$150M
#8
Series A · San Jose, California · founded 2016 · 57 employees$267Mraised▾
AI-enabled platform offering solutions for self-drive vehicles and grocery delivery services. It offers various services like Robotaxi offers autonomous taxi services. Robo trucks for grocery deliveries. It has developed a full-stack level-4 autonomous driving technology combining real-time camera vision, sensors, and AI software. It offers a mobile application through which users can order groceries and get them delivered to their doorstep through its customized Lincoln MKZ car equipped with AutoX's self-driving system.
- Apr 2020Series A$80M
- Jan 2020Series A—
- Dec 2019Series A—
- Sep 2019Series A$100M
#9
Series B · San Jose, California · founded 2015 · 100 employees$29.4Mraised▾
Provider of autonomous driving software solution. It has developed a mapless software solution for autonomous driving of passenger cars, buses, and shuttles. It provides bio-inspired technology that collects and processes peripheral information from cameras installed on the vehicle then this data is sent to a special computer in the vehicle whose purpose is to perform, in real-time, the actions that will allow the vehicle to drive autonomously and their location-independent technology enables the deployment of autonomous vehicles on unknown roads for journeys of multiple lengths.
- 2022Series B$22M
- Jul 2017Series A$7M
- Jan 2015Seed$400K
#10
Acquired · San Jose, California · founded 2020 · 23 employees$33Mraised▾
AI-enabled platform offering connectivity solutions for autonomous driving. The company offers multi-gigabit technologies for connectivity solutions of autonomous vehicles. It offers V2x connectivity solutions, electrification, etc.
- Sep 2021Series A$26.5M
#11
Series B · San Jose, California · founded 2005 · 25 employees$29.5Mraised▾
Developer of powertrain system for electric vehicles. The Route, for medium-duty commercial fleet trucks, While continuing to meet the payload and power expectations of fleet operators, The Route claims to reduce fuel consumption. Designed for both efficiency and performance. Using electric drive, regenerative braking, and a unique approach to onboard power generation, Wrightspeed’s Route is a fully integrated and extremely high power system and the first to use a software-controlled “clutchless” transmission.
- Aug 2019Series B$11.4M
- Mar 2017Series B$8M
- Jul 2015Series B$5M
- Sep 2012Grant (prize money)$5.8M
#12
Series A · San Jose, California · founded 2011 · 81 employees$28.6Mraised▾
Local marketing management platform for auto repair shops. It allows businesses to create websites, manage customer data, run marketing campaigns across search engines and email, manage directory listings, and track revenue metrics and campaign effectiveness.
- Jun 2019Series A$27M
- Feb 2018Seed$1.3M
- Jan 2013Seed$324K
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Auto Tech coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Autonomous Vehicles is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Autonomous Vehicles — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 3,252 United States-affiliated papers.
- Carnegie Mellon University89
- Purdue University West Lafayette76
- University of California, Berkeley69
- Northeastern University64
- Stanford University55
- Computer vision12→111
- Human–computer interaction2→64
- Perception2→59
- Robustness (evolution)3→53
- Trajectory12→61
- Human–computer interaction3→65
- Transport engineering11→66
- Computer vision2→54
- Reinforcement learning3→46
- Automotive engineering5→48
- Humanities4→108
- Philosophy1→64
- Context (archaeology)1→54
- Computer security2→48
- Transport engineering4→30
Where autonomous vehicles is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing autonomous vehicles patents in the United States
United States autonomous vehicles patent filing is accelerating — 19,294 filings from 4,355 assignees (2016–2025), led by Waymo, Baidu USA, GM Cruise Holdings; annual filings 885→1348.
- Waymo1688
- Baidu USA1034
- GM Cruise Holdings767
- FORD Global TECH589
- Qualcomm565
- Tusimple547
- UBER Technologies527
- UATC507
Common questions
Riya reads income statements for fun. She covers the real money in a sector — revenue, growth, who actually earns — and never met a vague claim she didn't want a number for.