The world is moving toward fully autonomous machines, and the autonomous robotics startup Exwayz is stepping right into the heart of the challenge. One of the biggest obstacles in robotics remains surprisingly fundamental. Most robots still lose their sense of direction the moment they enter difficult environments.
GPS signals drop, bounce, or get blocked by walls, metal structures, tunnels, or tall buildings. This single limitation slows the progress of autonomous trucks, delivery robots, warehouse machines, and many other systems that need to work with absolute precision.
This is the gap that the autonomous robotics startup Exwayz is determined to close. The company was founded in 2021 by Hassan Bouchiba, Mathias Corsia, and Antoine Plat, three engineers who saw that the future of robotics depends on far better localisation than what GPS alone can offer. They set out to build technology that would allow any robot equipped with a LiDAR sensor to navigate with centimetre-level accuracy, even when GPS is completely unavailable.
Their answer became the Exwayz SLAM software, a real-time 3D mapping and localisation system. Instead of relying on satellite signals, it builds accurate digital maps on the fly, giving robots the ability to understand their environment in real time.
The software has already been validated through thousands of operating hours across commercial fleets, and it works seamlessly on a wide range of autonomous systems. This flexibility is a big reason why Exwayz has been gaining attention across the robotics world.
The autonomous robotics startup Exwayz has now secured a fresh €1 million funding round, led by CentraleSupélec Venture and supported by a France 2030 i-Lab Innovation Competition grant. The company is also backed by the 21st deeptech accelerator at Station F, which works alongside CentraleSupélec to help deeptech innovators scale their breakthroughs.
The company’s growing recognition shows how critical this technology is becoming. Exwayz was recently selected as one of Station F’s Future 40 startups and has earned BPI Deeptech certification, both strong signals of its technical strength and commercial potential.
As Hassan Bouchiba often explains, the mission behind Exwayz is driven by a belief that accurate localisation should not be limited to complex, expensive systems. The team wants to make advanced 3D localisation accessible to every robotics manufacturer, helping them break through the limitations that still hold the industry back. When robots struggle to know where they are, companies struggle to scale. When localisation becomes reliable, entire industries open up.
Real-world deployments already show what this shift looks like. One of the most notable examples is Embotech, the Swiss scale-up building autonomous driving solutions for industrial settings. Embotech uses Exwayz SLAM to guide fully autonomous trucks inside ports and logistics hubs where GPS signals are often unreliable or completely blocked. These trucks need to move heavy containers with accuracy and safety, so even small localisation errors can cause major issues. With Exwayz, the trucks navigate complex environments with the same precision they’d have outdoors.
A major deployment is coming in 2026 at the Port of Rotterdam, where thirty autonomous trucks powered by Embotech and Exwayz will operate. This large-scale setup will help create a safer, more efficient way to handle containers, reducing downtime and increasing throughput in one of the busiest ports in Europe. It also proves that LiDAR-based SLAM is no longer a research innovation — it is now a mature technology ready for industrial-scale use.
Exwayz is also gaining traction in the United States. In Boston, Cyvl.ai, a fast-growing geospatial data company serving more than 200 municipalities, uses Exwayz SLAM to build highly detailed 3D maps of road networks. Instead of relying on GPS signals, which can degrade in dense areas or under foliage, Cyvl.ai uses Exwayz to generate precise point clouds that cover tens of thousands of kilometres each year. These maps help cities improve road maintenance, identify infrastructure issues before they escalate, and plan modernisation projects with far more accuracy.
Beyond roads and ports, the possibilities extend to factories, warehouses, construction sites, and underground environments. In all these places, robots need a consistent understanding of their surroundings. With GPS unable to provide reliable coverage, the industry is looking for robust alternatives. That’s where the autonomous robotics startup Exwayz fits in — not as an add-on, but as a foundation for the next generation of autonomous machines.
With the new funding, the company is preparing to scale its technology far beyond early deployments. A large part of the investment will go into expanding the engineering team. The company plans to hire specialists in algorithms, 3D vision, and data science to continue improving the SLAM engine. Even though the current version is already validated in demanding environments, the team believes there is still room for faster processing, higher accuracy, and more robust performance across extreme conditions.
Another major priority is accelerating industrial rollouts. Robotics manufacturers often need deep integration support when adopting new localisation software, so Exwayz is investing in customer success, technical support, and pilot programs that help partners deploy faster. The company also wants to expand its global commercial reach, especially in sectors like logistics, mobility, industrial inspection, and safety robotics, where reliable navigation is a direct competitive advantage.
Partners already working with Exwayz often highlight both the technical quality and the collaborative approach the team brings. Embotech’s COO, Giorgio Corbellini, has emphasized that the LiDAR-based localisation from Exwayz strengthens their autonomous solutions in the field. For them, the value goes beyond the accuracy itself — it is the steady release of new features and improvements that keeps their systems evolving.
Cyvl.ai’s CEO, Daniel Pelaez, reinforces this view. Their team relies on Exwayz SLAM to deliver high-resolution 3D point clouds used by cities across the United States. From their perspective, the reliability of the software and the responsiveness of the Exwayz team make the partnership stand out.
The next wave of robotics innovation is shifting away from the idea that GPS is the main source of truth for navigation. Instead, companies are embracing advanced perception systems that help robots understand the world the way humans do. By focusing on LiDAR, real-time mapping, and high-precision SLAM, the autonomous robotics startup Exwayz is positioning itself at the core of this shift.
As more industries adopt autonomous systems, the demand for centimetre-level accuracy will continue to rise. Robots will need to operate safely around people, heavy equipment, and unpredictable environments. Reliable localisation becomes the bridge that connects hardware with real-world performance. With its expanding customer base, growing technical team, and strong investor support, Exwayz is shaping that future one deployment at a time.
The momentum behind the company shows how quickly GPS-free navigation is becoming a must-have for robotics manufacturers. And as Exwayz pushes forward, its vision is clear: give robots the ability to know exactly where they are, no matter where they operate, and unlock the next era of autonomy worldwide.
