Mapless AI, an AV software company, has been acquired by the Philly-based physical AI startup FORT Robotics for an undisclosed amount. 

Mapless, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is known for delivering driverless vehicles to customers for one-way trips. Through this acquisition, Mapless’ expertise will expand FORT’s Trust Platform, a safety system for autonomous machines. 

As part of this acquisition, the company will accelerate its expansion into new industries.

“The physical AI market is a multi-billion-dollar economic engine, but its full potential can only be unlocked if machines are trustworthy enough to operate in real-world human environments,” said Samuel Reeves, CEO of FORT, in the announcement. “Acquiring Mapless AI expands our platform to directly meet this vital need, allowing FORT to deliver the proactive safety frameworks our customers are asking for.” 

FORT’s platform will add Mapless’ remote teleoperation capabilities, allowing off-site specialists to monitor and operate vehicles from a safe distance. The acquisition will also give machines stronger active safety features, including the ability to detect, anticipate and respond to their environments in real time.

“Joining the FORT family allows us to bring our safety-first vision to a much larger platform, accelerating the type of products that will define the next decade of industrial automation and physical AI,” Philipp Robbel, cofounder of Mapless, said in a prepared statement.

The announcement comes after FORT added nearly $19 million to its Series B last year. The company told Technical.ly it would use the funds to expand into industries beyond agriculture, construction and warehousing and further support its more than 500 customers. 

As part of this acquisition, the company will accelerate its expansion into industries like construction, logistics, defense and last-mile delivery, it said in the announcement. 

Last month, Mapless AI and Meter Feeder, a parking payment platform, successfully completed what they say is the first machine-to-machine parking transaction in the US, just in time for Waymo’s Pittsburgh deployment. 

Mapless and FORT did not immediately respond to Technical.ly’s request for comment on the details of the acquisition.