Swiss Startup Neural Concept Secures $27M to Accelerate EV Design Process to Just 18 Months

As competition from Chinese manufacturers escalates and the electric vehicle (EV) market experiences stagnation, leading U.S. and European automakers are striving to reduce electric vehicle production costs to match the price points and profit margins of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. To achieve this, they must streamline the design process to enhance efficiency and speed.

Neural Concept, a startup emerging from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), has successfully raised $27 million in a Series B funding round aimed at leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to address this critical challenge.

In essence, Neural Concept enables designers to predict the performance of components before they are manufactured. Simply having a component design is insufficient; understanding how it will function within an engine, for example, is crucial. This is where Neural Concept's platform proves invaluable. Its technology has potential applications across various sectors, including automotive, microelectronics, aerospace, and energy.

The company utilizes deep learning in a 3D environment, merging data analysis and machine learning to accelerate development times by as much as 75% and enhance product simulation speeds by up to 10 times.

Pierre Baqué, co-founder and CEO of Neural Concept, highlighted the platform's ability to significantly automate a traditionally manual process. "For instance, if I design a battery and want to enhance its thermal efficiency, our software can recommend ways to achieve this due to its understanding of material properties," he explained.

"Previously, a CAD designer would create a 3D model and then pass it to another team for complex numerical simulations, which could be time-consuming and may necessitate physical testing. Now, our platform provides direct guidance to the designer."

Baqué envisions that his platform could reduce the EV development timeline from four years to just 18 months.

Neural Concept's innovative product is already being utilized by industry giants such as Airbus, Bosch, General Electric, Mubea, Subaru, and several Formula 1 racing teams. The company is also collaborating with Nvidia to enhance the performance of its GPUs and CUDA software.

The startup faces competition from established "component simulation" companies like Ansys, which is trying to enter the deep learning arena with its own platforms.

The Series B funding round was led by Forestay Capital, with participation from new investor D.E. Shaw Group, as well as existing backers Alven, Constantia New Business, HTGF, and Aster Group. This round follows a $9 million Series A in March 2022 and an initial $2 million seed round in 2020. The new funding will be allocated towards recruiting talent and expanding operations in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and the U.S.

Deborah Pittet, senior principal at Forestay Capital, commented, “Neural Concept has pioneered 3D deep learning — the forefront of AI technology — and has achieved remarkable traction and results with clients across diverse industries globally.”