Nuro Inc., one of the better-funded startups in the autonomous driving market, today disclosed that it has added $500 million to its war chest through a new funding round led by T. Rowe Price Associates.

Fidelity Management & Research, Baillie Gifford and existing investors contributed as well to the Series C round. Nuro has raised about $1.5 billion to date, including this latest round.

The Mountain View, California-based startup is not developing autonomous driving technology for standard cars and trucks like most other players in the market, but rather building custom self-driving delivery vehicles. Nuro’s flagship vehicle is the R2 (pictured). It’s smaller than a car and has no steering wheels or seats inside, only a cargo bay with capacity for about 400 pounds of goods.

The R2 is powered by homegrown artificial intelligence software connected to a custom set of sensors. The vehicle uses thermal imaging cameras, standard cameras, radars and multiple types of lidar devices to see the environment.

Nuro say its self-driving delivery vehicles can not only make last-mile logistics more efficient but also improve road safety. The R2 has a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour and a panel where the windshield would normally be that “absorbs energy” to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision, according to the startup.

Nuro earlier this year received regulatory authorization to deploy R2 vehicles on public roads and has since launched pilots in three states. One of the pilot programs, in Houston, Texas, is a partnership with Domino’s Pizza Inc. to deliver restaurant orders. Nuro says the R2 lends itself to delivering other types of goods as well, including groceries, medicine, and retail products.

The new $500 million will put the startup in a better position to pursue its expansion plans. Nuro said it will use the capital to support engineering and commercialization efforts.

Among the other players working on autonomous delivery is Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo LLC subsidiary. Earlier this year, Waymo inked separate partnerships with Fiat Chrysler Automotive NV and Daimler AG to develop self-driving delivery vehicles equipped with SAE Level 4 autonomy. That’s a technical category used to describe vehicles that can drive themselves for the most part but may still require a human to intervene in complex situations.

Photo: Nuro