Carnegie Autonomous Racing

What Carnegie Autonomous Racing does

Carnegie Mellon Racing (also referenced as Carnegie Autonomous Racing) is an undergraduate student organization at Carnegie Mellon University that designs, manufactures, and races Formula-style electric and autonomous vehicles in the Formula SAE collegiate competition circuit. Founded in 2002 (with the autonomous program initiated in 2019) and based on CMU's Pittsburgh campus, the team comprises approximately 150 undergraduate students from 21 countries and 33 states organized into six departments: Structures, Energetics, Driverless, Finance, Marketing & Outreach, and Race Operations. The team operates from two private on-campus workspaces in CMU's Factory Made Systems facility equipped with conventional and CNC machining tools.

The team's technology portfolio centers on annual competition vehicles—most recently the 25E (2025 electric), 24E (first carbon fiber monocoque chassis), and 23E—alongside a parallel autonomous program that produced the 19A (first North American driverless FSAE lap, 2023) and 24A (first rules-compliant autonomous vehicle to pass all static tech inspections at FSAE Michigan, 2025). Core technical components include a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with over 330 individually machined inserts, custom-designed PCBs and firmware for tractive systems, accumulators, grounded low-voltage, data acquisition, and controls, plus a complete open-source autonomous software stack covering perception (LiDAR + camera), path planning, and software architecture. The 2025-2026 season marks the first time CMR competes with an integrated traditional-and-autonomous vehicle.

CMR does not sell products or services. Its operating capital is sourced from a formalized multi-tier corporate sponsorship program (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Friend) anchored by automotive OEMs (Ford at Gold; GM, Rivian, Tesla), technology firms (AWS, Atlassian, Altium), and industry suppliers (Renishaw, Evonik, Hesai, Magna, IPG Automotive), supplemented by individual donations and CMU Giving Day crowdfunding. Go-to-market is community-led: student recruitment via Slack, social media, and general body meetings; sponsor acquisition is handled by the Finance department through corporate outreach and sponsorship packets; competition performance at FSAE Michigan and Formula Hybrid serves as the primary proof point visible to industry experts and prospective partners.

Name

Carnegie Autonomous Racing

Legal name

Carnegie Mellon Racing

Website

https://carnegiemellonracing.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Carnegie Mellon Racing is an undergraduate student organization at Carnegie Mellon University that designs, manufactures, and competes with Formula-style electric and autonomous race cars in the Formula SAE circuit, funded by corporate sponsorships and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collegiate Motorsports Engineering

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997)

akta.pro primary industry

Club Sports Programs (EDALAIAB)

Keywords

• Formula SAE racing
• Electric race cars
• Autonomous racing vehicles
• Collegiate motorsports
• Student engineering teams

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Corporate Sponsorship: Corporate sponsors provide financial and in-kind support at various tiers (Gold, Silver, Bronze) in exchange for brand visibility and association with a premier engineering organization. Sponsors include automotive companies (Ford, GM, Rivian, Tesla), technology companies (AWS, Atlassian, Slack, Altium), and industry suppliers.
2. Individual Donations and Crowdfunding: Individual donors contribute through crowdfunding campaigns, including CMU Giving Day (December 2nd). Donations support specific initiatives including the driverless program.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Carnegie Autonomous Racing (Carnegie Mellon Racing) is an undergraduate student organization that designs, manufactures, and races Formula-style electric and autonomous race cars for Formula SAE collegiate competitions. The team produces annual competition vehicles, develops autonomous driving software, and operates across six functional departments (Structures, Energetics, Driverless, Finance, Marketing & Outreach, Race Operations). The team also releases its autonomous software stack as open-source documentation to support other FSAE teams.

Product overview

Carnegie Mellon Racing is a student organization that designs and builds Formula-style electric race cars and autonomous vehicle technology for FSAE competitions. The product portfolio centers on annual competition vehicles (25E, 24E, 23E for electric division) and autonomous race car programs (24A, 19A). For the 2025-2026 season, the team introduced its first integrated car that competes as both traditional and autonomous FSAE vehicle. The team has also open-sourced their autonomous software stack to support development across the FSAE community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 25E Electric Race Car CMR's 2025 Formula SAE competition vehicle competing in the electric division. Achieved top 10 finishes in Engineering Design (3rd), Cost (2nd), and Acceleration (6th).
• 24E Electric Race Car CMR's 2024 competition vehicle featuring the team's first ever carbon fiber chassis with over 330 individually machined chassis inserts. Achieved overall 14th place with Acceleration 8th, Skidpad 9th, and won the Garrett Innovation Award.
• 24A Autonomous Vehicle CMR's third autonomous vehicle and first rules-compliant autonomous car that passed all static tech inspections at FSAE Michigan. Represents the team's progress toward integrated traditional and autonomous competition capability.
• 23E Electric Race Car CMR's 2023 competition vehicle that achieved Design 8th, Skidpad 3rd, Endurance 3rd, and Acceleration 4th at FSAE competitions. Also won Design 1st, Acceleration 1st (Record), and Virtual Race 1st at Formula Hybrid.
• 19A Autonomous Vehicle CMR's first autonomous vehicle that successfully completed an autonomous lap at Formula Hybrid + Electric in 2023. First vehicle to complete a driverless lap at a North American FSAE competition, pioneering autonomous racing in North America.
• Autonomous Software Stack (Open Source) Open-source autonomous racing software stack with comprehensive documentation covering the entire pipeline from theory to implementation. Released to help other FSAE teams develop their own driverless programs.

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and bronze.

• IPG AutomotivecoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology partner providing simulation software for vehicle dynamics and testing.
• AltiumbronzeTechnology or IntegrationProvides PCB design software for custom electronics development.
• nTopbronzeTechnology or IntegrationProvides advanced modeling software for structural design.
• About:EnergybronzeTechnology or IntegrationProvides battery technology and testing services for electric vehicle development.
• Formula SAEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collegiate engineering competition organized by SAE International where CMR competes annually.
• Formula Hybrid + ElectriccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetition venue where CMR pioneered the first autonomous track drive in North America.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MIT Motorsports: MIT's collegiate FSAE team competing in the electric and driverless divisions of Formula SAE. Directly comparable to CMR as a top-tier engineering school racing team with autonomous vehicle ambitions.
• Georgia Tech Motorsports: Georgia Tech's Formula SAE electric and driverless racing team. Comparable to CMR as a peer top-10 engineering school with autonomous vehicle development programs.
• UC Berkeley Formula SAE (Cal Racing): UC Berkeley's collegiate FSAE team with electric and autonomous racing programs. Comparable to CMR in university structure, sponsorship model, and competition profile.
• University of Michigan Formula SAE Team: One of the most decorated FSAE teams in North America, competing in both electric and autonomous divisions. Comparable to CMR in scale, ambition, and competition circuit presence.
• Purdue Motorsports: Purdue University's Formula SAE team competing in electric and driverless events. Comparable in scope, scale, and collegiate engineering competition focus.
• Stanford Racing (Autonomous Systems Lab spinoff team): Stanford's autonomous racing program, historically a pioneer in driverless vehicles (Stanley, Junior). Directly comparable to CMR's autonomous FSAE efforts and elite engineering school pedigree.
• Virginia Tech Motorsports: Virginia Tech's FSAE team with strong electric and driverless vehicle development. Comparable in competition circuit, engineering depth, and corporate sponsor profile.

Emerging players

• Roborace: The first full-scale autonomous racing series, focusing on AI-driven electric race cars. Adjacent to CMR's autonomous FSAE efforts and represents the long-term commercial horizon for the technology CMR is developing at student scale.

Broad incumbents

• Indy Autonomous Challenge: Professional autonomous racing series featuring university-corporate teams competing with full-scale Dallara race cars. Represents a higher-budget, more commercialized tier of autonomous motorsport that CMR's technology could feed into.
• Formula Student Germany: The largest international Formula Student competition series, with strong European teams (TU Munich, KIT, ETH Zurich) competing in electric and driverless classes. Represents the global benchmark that CMR aspires to compete against.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cmr_fsae
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@carnegiemellonracing?sub_confirmation=1
• Facebookfacebook.com/CarnegieMellonRacing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carnegie-autonomous-racing
• Instagraminstagram.com/carnegiemellonracing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carnegie Autonomous Racing