Nutonomy teams up with Peugeot-maker Groupe PSA for self-driving car tests in Singapore

Nutonomy, the self-driving car startup that span out of MIT in 2013, has inked a deal that will see it work with Peugeot-maker Groupe PSA to test autonomous vehicles in Singapore.

Nutonomy is more than familiar with Singapore: it has a relationship with local Uber rival Grab and the Singapore Economic Development Board was an investor in its recent $16 million fundraising. This new tie-in will see its autonomous vehicle tech, which includes software and sensors, integrated into a customized version of the Peugeot 3008. Trials will take place on public roads in Singapore from September, both companies confirmed.

Cambridge, MA-based Nutonomy has an office in Singapore, and beyond the city-state it has also conducted tests in the Boston area, too. (Side note: it actually beat Uber to become the first company to test (so-called) ‘robo-taxis’ on public roads although reports suggest it has plenty of work to do on stabilizing the passenger experience.) This deal with Groupe PSA, which also manufactures Citroen cars, will push the startup forward towards its ambitious goal of deploying commercial robo-taxis in Singapore by 2018.

“We’re confident that working with Groupe PSA will bring us closer to our goal of deploying a safe, efficient, fully autonomous mobility-on-demand transportation service for urban driving environments,” Nutonomy CEO and co-founder Karl lagnemma said in a statement.

As for Groupe PSA, the French automaker announced its self-driving car program last year. To date, it has tested autonomous vehicles across Europe while, most recently, it revealed plans for pilots with “non-expert” drivers on French roads.

“This collaboration is a significant step towards fully autonomous vehicles, which will enable us to offer different mobility solutions to our customers,” said Anne Laliron, head of the business lab at Groupe PSA.