Tech Funding News and the venture firm noa hosted a breakfast event in London for founders and investors. The discussion featured Patrick Bion, CEO of Minimal, a company developing autonomous vehicles and software for urban logistics.
Minimal operates as a full-stack provider, either selling its autonomous systems to operators or managing the fleets directly. Early trials with partners like Royal Mail and Evri reportedly reduced logistics costs by approximately 50%.
The startup raised £1.5 million from angel investors during its first 18 months. Last year, the company secured an additional £4.5 million in a funding round led by noa.
Bion noted that Minimal currently employs 20 people. By utilizing AI agents for mechanical engineering and software development, the team achieves higher output compared to his previous experience at Arrival, where he managed significantly larger teams.
Bion emphasized that physical AI companies must control their operations to maintain a data advantage. He also highlighted the need for more growth-stage capital in Europe to support the scaling of hardware-focused businesses.
