Softbank’s Vision Fund pumps $940m into driverless delivery startup Nuro

Softbank’s Vision Fund has pumped $940m (£730.9m) into driverless delivery startup Nuro, valuing the Silicon Valley-based robotics firm at $2.7bn.

Nuro, co-founded in 2016 by two former engineers of Google’s self-driving project, secured the investment from the Japanese tech giant through a fund set aside to boost fast-growing technology firms.

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The company said the funding would be used to expand its delivery service to new areas, add new partners and expand its fleet and team.

Last year Nuro announced a partnership with US supermarket chain Kroger to deliver to customers using its fleet of self-driving vehicles.

“We have spent the last two and a half years building an amazing team, launching our first unmanned service, working with incredible partners and creating technology to fundamentally improve our daily lives,” co-founder Dave Ferguson said.

“This partnership gives us the opportunity to take the next step in realising our vision for local commerce and the broad application of technology.”

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Michael Ronen, partner at Softbank Investment Advisers, said: “Nuro’s world class team has successfully scaled their self-driving technology out of the lab and into the streets.

“In just two years they have developed Nuro from a concept into a real business using robotics to connect retailers to customers.”