A Birmingham technology company which once claimed to be Europe’s best-funded driverless vehicle startup has appointed liquidators.
Conigital claimed to have raised more than £500m in Series A+ funding in 2023 – a combination of equity and debt which it said was the result of a strategic partnership with a global private equity infrastructure firm which managed £150 billion in assets.
Earlier that same year, the firm received £8.3m from the government and £6.9m from industry.
However reports cast doubt about the veracity of the £500m+ claim and the company has since faced employment tribunals over unpaid wages and unfair dismissal claims.
Now the company has entered voluntary liquidation, with Craig Povey and Mark Malone from Begbies Traynor appointed.
Founded by Don-Paul Dhaliwal in 2015, Conigital, which employed 22 people, was developing technology to retrofit commercial vehicles with autonomous driving capability. Its full-stack ‘Lift and Shift’ driverless vehicle platform, ConICAV, was targeted at industrial and commercial fleets.
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Headquartered in Birmingham and operating in Australia, Brazil, and India, the company had established strategic academic alliances with Coventry University, University of Essex and Queensland University of Technology.
Filings on Companies House show that the firm owes more than £3m and has total assets estimated at around £33,600.
Creditors include Future Fund, HMRC and KMC Ventures, based in Malta.
Craig Povey, partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “I can confirm that we have been appointed as liquidators for Conigital and are working closely with management to ensure we get the best result for stakeholders, creditors and employees.
“This is a truly innovative, high-end technology company which attracted funding for a number of years due to the progress it was making. Unfortunately, due to funding issues, the directors and shareholders felt that they had no alternative than to voluntarily liquidate the company, following careful consideration due to the business being unable to sustain operations.
“This company appears to be another victim of investor fatigue/inability to raise the required levels of finance due to market conditions. We would highlight that businesses, especially in these asset and intellectual property-rich industries, have options if they review their operations and seek turnaround advice early.
“The earlier businesses confront the indicators and signs of distress the more opportunities they have to survive and thrive.”