Nvidia just bet on a British self-driving company targeting ports, airports, and factories instead of roads
Nvidia has backed a UK-based startup that’s sidestepping the crowded consumer road market in favour of industrial heavy lifting.
Oxford-headquartered Oxa (formerly Oxbotica) announced on Tuesday (3 March) the first close of its Series D funding round, raising $103 million (£77 million).
The round features a significant $50 million (£37.5 million) commitment from the UK’s National Wealth Fund, alongside fresh investment from NVentures, the venture capital arm of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company. Existing investors, including IP Group, Hostplus, and bp Ventures, also participated.
Unlike high-profile autonomous driving players chasing robotaxis and consumer vehicles on public roads the focus at Oxa is on Industrial Mobility Automation (IMA).
Its technology automates repetitive driving tasks in controlled, high-value environments like ports, airports, manufacturing plants, warehouses, solar farms, and industrial sites.
Oxa’s core offering is its ‘Oxa Driver’, a configurable, explainable self-driving software stack built on physical AI and robotics principles, paired with the Oxa Foundry development toolchain.
These tools enable safe autonomy for towing goods, carrying loads, perimeter monitoring, and asset management, applications where labour shortages, rising costs, and safety concerns create immediate ROI opportunities.
The company has already shown traction with major customers including logistics giant DHL, Vantec, and energy firm bp. Oxa has also highlighted projects like an autonomous logistics initiative at the Port of Tyne and a partnership with Applied EV for turnkey industrial solutions.
“This investment validates our intensified focus on Industrial Mobility Automation, where the path to commercial deployment at scale is clearest and most immediate,” said Paul Newman, Oxa’s founder and CTO.
“The capital will supercharge the development of our technology, enabling our industrial customers to benefit from significant productivity gains, lower operational costs, and increased workplace safety, sooner.”
The funding, bringing Oxa’s total raised to over $250 million (£187 million), will fuel global expansion, with emphasis on the UK, Europe, and the Middle East.
A second and final Series D close is slated for the first half of 2026.
