driveblocks raises 3.5M€ to commercialize safe & scalable off-road autonomy through AI-based perception technology

Munich, 10.02.2026. driveblocks, a Munich-based software-specialist for advanced off-road autonomy software, has raised a 3.5M Pre-Series A investment led by FORWARD.one, a European industrial technology venture capital firm, and with strong participation of existing investors Bayern Kapital, rethink Ventures and angel investor Joachim Drees. The funding will be used to accelerate product development, advance safety certification, and launch first production deployments with OEMs and system integrators across agriculture, construction, and defense. 

Off-road vehicles are the backbone of the modern world, building our infrastructure, producing our food and protecting our democracies. Yet despite major progress in on-road autonomous driving, off-road autonomy remains largely unsolved. Unstructured terrain, harsh environmental conditions, vegetation, and the lack of reliable maps pose substantial perception and certification challenges and require a specialized off-road technology stack.  

driveblocks addresses this gap with a robust and application-agnostic autonomy layer for off-road ground vehicles with a strong focus on perception technology. The software fuses multiple camera and LiDAR detection streams into a real-time 3D understanding of complex off-road environments and provides reactive navigation capabilities. This functionality is the core missing piece to enable the next generation of autonomous off-road vehicles. It can be used either standalone or as a redundant extension to an already existing GNSS-based autonomy stack. The company's hybrid approach between AI-heavy and explainable algorithms enables deployment in safety-critical use-cases while shipping increasingly capable AI functionalities.  

“Reliable perception, deployment of AI functionalities on edge devices and the capability to operate software in safety critical environments are the limiting factors for off-road autonomy,” said Dr. Alexander Wischnewski, CEO and Co-founder of driveblocks. “This investment allows us to move from pilots to production deployments. We will collaborate closely with our customers and push towards autonomous solutions for applications requiring safety-certification.” 

Robotics and Physical AI are the drivers behind a new industrial revolution 

Across agriculture, construction, mining, and defense, operators face increasing pressure to leverage autonomous technology to stay competitive - driven by labor shortage, dangerous operating environments, and the surge of advanced AI capabilities. With a shortage of hundreds of thousand drivers, workers & soldiers in the upcoming years - pushing this technology forward has become a question of sovereignty and ensuring societal advancement.  

This geopolitical shift and the resulting demand for European built solutions has created strong momentum for driveblocks through the last years. With customers in defense and civilian applications already operating several prototyping vehicles with driveblocks technology, the company has established its position as a crucial player in the European technology sector. The close collaboration with OEMs and system integrators underscores the ambition to move quickly into scalable use-cases & long-term production contracts.  

Given recent breakthroughs in AI and related technologies, it's no longer a question of if but when this technology will enter the market at scale. driveblocks’ software-first approach enables a gradual path to commercialization - focused on use-cases where there is immediate operator value and limited safety requirements. With increasing field experience & training data, the technology will be refined and deployed at higher speeds and in more challenging edge-cases. This approach is particularly suitable for the off-road market with its high diversity of vehicle platforms and use-cases - and allows to build a sustainable business case in a market valued at more than 100 billion euros of potential labor cost savings.  

“driveblocks focuses on what actually limits off-road autonomy: perception, edge cases, and certification,” said Cailin Greiner, Investment Manager at FORWARD.one. “Their environment-agnostic approach, trained across industrial verticals, delivers robustness where others break down, and it runs on production-grade hardware. The fact that customers are moving from integration to production confirms the commercial relevance of the technology.” 

From left to right: Dr. Alexander Wischnewski (Co-founder & CEO, driveblocks), Cailin Greiner (Investment Manager, FORWARD.one), Dr. Stephan Matz (Co-founder & COO, driveblocks)

A team bridging cutting edge AI research with engineering excellence - based in Munich, Europe’s new Robotic & Defense Tech Capital  

Monika Steger, Managing Director at Bayern Kapital, says: “We committed to driveblocks early on and have been on board as an investor since the seed phase. Our thesis: autonomous vehicles are gaining importance in all types of off-road applications. Unlike its competitors, driveblocks' scalable software platform relies on mapless environment detection, which offers more flexible use in unstructured environments and greater robustness in fog, rain, and other difficult weather conditions. This technological USP is what makes Driveblocks an exciting investment case for us in the field of Physical AI”.  

The bridge between cutting edge research and engineering excellence is clearly in the founding teams DNA: Back in their research days at the Technical University of Munich, they won a 1 Mio USD dollar research competition for autonomous racing cars with speeds of up to 280 kph on the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, later followed by a second place in one of the first autonomous multi-vehicle races in Las Vegas.  

“Looking forward, we will put increasing focus on productionizing our technology. “, said Dr. Stephan Matz, COO and co-founder of driveblocks, “With the Pre-Series A we will strengthen our commercial and operations team and keep investing in our R&D organization. With Munich taking center stage for Robotics & Defense Tech, we are eager to play our part in taking the European technology ecosystem to the next level”.  

About driveblocks 

driveblocks builds Europe’s most advanced off-road autonomy stack, enabling safe and scalable autonomy for off-road vehicles through advanced perception technology. Built on physical AI, its platform transforms camera and LiDAR data into a real-time 3D understanding of complex off-road settings and provides concrete navigation decisions. driveblocks partners with leading OEMs and system integrators across agriculture, construction, mining, and defense.

Headquartered in Munich, Germany.
www.driveblocks.ai 

About FORWARD.one 

Founded in 2017, FORWARD.one is a venture capital firm dedicated to industrial technology. With a team combining entrepreneurial, engineering and financial expertise, the firm has become one of Europe’s most commercially oriented and top-performing technology investors. 

Driven by a tough-love ethos and bold, non-conformist bets, FORWARD.one has demonstrated that exceptional commercialisation builds winners that generate outstanding returns. With Funds I and II ranking among the top 5% of European VC funds, the firm is a coveted partner for founders building Europe’s next industrial champions.

FORWARD.one. Serious about performance.
www.forward.one

Press contacts

driveblocks — contact@driveblocks.ai
FORWARD.one — media@forward.one