Google-backed UK startup Oxa says US operations ”shock absorbed” from Trump tariffs

Google-backed UK tech firm Oxa says its US operations are “shock absorbed” from the Trump tariffs, as it says it’s on the “precipice” of scaling. Oxa, founded in 2014, develops software for self-driving vehicles with a focus on selling its software in controlled environments, such as in solar farms, refineries and factories.

Employing over 400 people, Oxa has raised £250m and is a “ballpark” unicorn, in which Google acquired a 3.5 per cent stake in 2023.

The Trump tariffs and subsequent pause of the vast majority of many of them have sent shockwaves through the markets and global business community. Oxa has around 40 people in the US and has a partnership with US shuttle firm Beep, in which Oxa software powers driverless passenger shuttle services in Florida and further afield in the US.

Oxa also has tie-ups with US chipmaker NVidia and Google, which power its tech. Oxa CEO Gavin Jackson says Oxa is “shock absorbed” from the tariffs as it has a “localised setup”, whereby its tech for the US market is manufactured in the US, where it employs around 40 staff.

Citing the Buy America ruling, which predates the Trump tariffs, and which prioritises US manufactured and US sourced goods, Jackson said: “I think that, by and large, the model in the US pre-and post-tariffs has always been that they reward companies and entities that are inwardly investing into the region.

“So Oxa is very much an inward investor into the US, so far we haven’t seen anything that has been cause for any alarm for us.”

Oxa also has tie-ups with blue-chip clients BP and Ocado and Jackson says over the coming months it would be ramping up its commercial offensive, meaning more customers paying for its tech.

He said Oxa was shifting from beta to “general availability” deployment of its tech to customers in some of the sectors it operates.

One example of this, Jackson said, was “asset monitoring”, such as the repetitive monitoring or surveillance of big industrial sites.

BP, for example, operates large solar farms, within which sit solar panels which can be prone to heating up potentially causing fires.

Autonomous vehicles powered by Oxa drive miles and miles in these farms to identify hotspots.

Two other areas Oxa was shifting from beta to “general availability” were “light towing” (such as autonomous vehicle baggage towing at airports) and “heavy towing” (such as autonomous vehicle towing at ports), Jackson said.

Separately, Oxa is expected to soon report its full-year results for 2024, having reported losses of £42m in 2023, on a turnover of £794,000.

When asked about when Oxa would become profitable, Jackson emphasised that Oxa was a “deep tech, venture stage” company and Oxa was a “few years” from being self-funded.

He said: “We are on the precipice of commercial scaling. We are well capitalised today and that can sustain us for any number of years.”

He added that transitioning from the beta stage to “general availability” was the “fastest route” to becoming self-funded.

Jackson would not be drawn if it was likely that Google would increase its 3.5 per cent stake but said that its existing investors understood Oxa would require further funding.