SoftBank backs autonomous vehicle maker ASI with $230M

SoftBank Group has invested $225 million into Autonomous Solutions, Inc. (ASI), a Utah company whose software makes work vehicles drive themselves.

ASI's main product is Mobius, software that runs fleets of self-driving work vehicles.

The company says it works with machines from any major maker, so builders can automate the mixed equipment they already own.

The other half of the deal: SoftBank is separately funding a joint venture focused on civil construction and moving materials on site.

It also marks SoftBank's second bet on autonomous heavy machinery in months — in August, it led a $200 million round for Gravis Robotics, a Swiss startup that fits excavators with self-driving software.