Mazda-backed AI firm can slash car development time “to months”

Sixteen million pounds of funding has been raised for British artificial intelligence (AI) firm Secondmind, whose tech is claimed to cut a car’s development time from years to months and “create better cars faster”.

Using machine learning (AI that teaches itself), the tech can both reduce the amount of errors in design and testing ten-fold. This leads to fewer corrections and 40% fewer costly prototypes needing to be produced.

Mazda invested an undisclosed amount in the last funding round, sparking a new partnership deal, and the Japanese brand will now look to utilise Secondmind’s tech in the development of its powertrains, primarily to slash engine calibration time by half. 

It follows an already blossoming three-year partnership in which Mazda has used Secondmind’s AI to simplify the ever-growing complexity of EV design and development in a bid to slash development time and costs.