Fractional CFO for autonomous technologies companies
Autonomous technology runs on cash burn against technical milestones. Most companies in the category spend several hundred million before meaningful commercial revenue, with operating cost split across engineering headcount, test and fleet vehicles, simulation and data infrastructure, and the safety and validation work to move from pilot to deployment. Disengagement rates matter more to the financial story than booked revenue.
The work is dominated by runway and milestone planning. We focus on accurate cost reporting across engineering, fleet and simulation; a capitalised R&D treatment that survives audit; revenue recognition on milestone-billed OEM, government and pilot contracts; and a long-range cash model tied to safety and regulatory gates rather than commercial assumptions.
Flow provides financial modelling, FP&A and fractional CFO advisory to autonomous technology companies across robotaxi and shared autonomous mobility, autonomous trucking and freight, autonomy software stacks and middleware, sensor and perception systems, and autonomous applications in mining, agriculture and industrial environments. Our startup CFO work leads the long-range model that ties burn to disengagement and safety milestones.
KPIs to track for "autonomous technologies" startups
We're very 'KPI-driven' fractional CFOs, and we make sure to monitor the right metrics for your startup.
Kilometres driven autonomously
Disengagement rate
Km per disengagement
Test fleet size
Operational design domains live
OEM & customer contracts
Pilot revenue
R&D spend
Simulation hours
Safety incidents
Cash runway (months)
Financial modelling for "autonomous technologies" startups
As fractional CFOs, we build KPI-driven financial models that are insightful and easy to maintain.
Financial modelling is both art and science - models must be robust, but also understandable, and useful for both internal planning and VC fundraising purposes. Hire a fractional CFO who knows how to handle both sides of the equation.
Long-range cash and runway model
Multi-year burn modelled against safety and regulatory milestones - ODD expansion, driver-out approval, commercial launch - rather than commercial assumptions. Tells the board exactly how much capital each technical gate consumes before commercial revenue materialises.
Cost reporting by function
Engineering headcount, test and fleet vehicles, simulation and data infrastructure, and validation cost split into separate operating-cost pools rather than buried in R&D. Identifies which functions are scaling with progress and which are scaling with headcount alone.
Capitalised R&D treatment
Engineering spend split between expensed research and capitalised development under an IFRS or US GAAP policy that survives audit, R&D tax claims and acquirer review. Stops the EBITDA line from being whipsawed by accounting policy ambiguity.
Milestone-billed contract revenue
Revenue recognition for OEM development programmes, government and pilot contracts under milestone or percentage-of-completion accounting with remaining performance obligations disclosed. Aligns reported revenue with the technical deliverables the customer actually pays for.
Test fleet and simulation economics
Test vehicle capex, operator labour, simulation compute and data-labelling cost modelled per autonomous-kilometre and per disengagement reduction. Tells engineering and finance which dollar buys the next safety case improvement.
Robotaxi and freight unit economics
Per-trip or per-mile revenue, vehicle utilisation, fleet ops cost, depreciation and remote-assist staffing built into a unit-economics view at planned ODD scale. Quantifies the gross margin the commercial deployment actually delivers once the safety driver comes out.
Founders and investors we've worked with
We've supported winning builders across autonomous technologies and beyond.
Onlogist
We acted as fractional CFO to Onlogist, a Hamburg-based online marketplace for last-mile vehicle transfer, providing confidential valuation guidance and operating model support.
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TBô
We acted as fractional CFO to TBô, a Zurich-based tech-enabled DTC male underwear brand, building a bottom-up financial / operating model with cohort-level KPIs and positioning the company for its next venture round.
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Marcura
We acted as fractional CFO to Dubai-based Marcura, owner of maritime payroll and B2B payments platform MarTrust, advising on the strategic e-Wallet vendor selection and supporting product/finance integration.
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Hector
We acted as fractional CFO to Hector Aurumi, a Dubai-based specialist software house with AI/ML, IoT and data science expertise, providing confidential valuation guidance to the management team.
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Bonart
We've worked as fractional CFO with Bonart, a Zurich-based independent Swiss strategic advisory and execution platform for PE and investor fundraising, providing long-term confidential valuation guidance.
See moreRecent fractional CFO track record
See our fractional CFO and financial modelling experience across autonomous technologies and beyond.
Simple pricing
No hidden costs, no complicated long-term contracts. We understand how important flexibility is for autonomous technologies startups.
Per month
- Accounting / FP&A tech stack implementation
- Monthly financial statements and reporting pack
- Quarterly board pack with detailed financial analysis (with variance analysis vs. budget, relevant KPI observations etc.)
- Investor-friendly output
Per month
- Everything in Core, plus
- Operating model (via an online platform like Runway or Excel-based)
- Ongoing model maintenance, refining projections, burn/runway management
- Customer cohorts modelling, churn and retention analysis
- LTV / CAC, unit economics analysis
- Cap table management
Per month
- Everything in Grow, plus
- M&A / fundraising support; review of business plan
- Pitch deck preparation
- Investor approach strategy / list building
- Due diligence support and deal negotiation
- Valuation as required and free access to Multiples Pro
Packages shown are illustrative, final pricing is tailored to client requirements.
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We know tech inside & out.
We provide fractional CFO services to companies operating across the entire tech.
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We help you scale by providing fractional CFO advice, through fundraising and a successful M&A exit.
VC fundraising for autonomous technologies companies
We help you prepare materials, reach out to investors in our extensive network, negotiate fair term sheets and structure the VC round.
Learn moreM&A for autonomous technologies companies
We advise winning tech companies on M&A exits, and over the years successfully executed numerous transactions with both financial and strategic buyers.
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