Japan’s NTT Invests $3 Million in Car Data Broker Otonomo

Otonomo Technologies Ltd. an Israel-based startup that offers technology to monetize the data collected by cars, announced Tuesday a $3 million investment from NTT Docomo Ventures Inc., the venture capital arm of the Japanese telecommunications company.

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The deal follows the startup’s $25 million dollar round last year, which was led by auto parts maker Delphi Automotive PLC with participation from Hearst Ventures and previous investors Bessemer Venture Partners, StageOne Ventures and Maniv Mobility.

Founded in 2015, Otonomo has raised a total of $41 million in equity funding.

Car makers and tech companies have been studying ways to cash in on the massive amount of data processed by connected cars, from tire pressure to fuel consumption. Otonomo’s approach is to act as a middleman between the cars and potential buyers like insurers and marketers, taking a cut on the sale of data.

Lured by the opportunity of learning more about its drivers’ behavior, several insurance companies already buy data on Otonomo’s exchange.

More than two million vehicles are tapped into the data exchange, according to a report from Bloomberg. Otonomo also told Bloomberg that it is conducting pilot programs with 10 car companies and 11 automotive firms.