Many of Michael Fleming's contemporaries from the days of the DARPA self-driving vehicle challenges have gone on to lead some of the most high-profile companies in the self-driving industry.
By contrast, he has preferred to keep himself and his company, Torc Robotics, far from the spotlight.
Few beyond a handful of industry insiders know much about this Blacksburg, Va., provider of full-stack autonomous systems. The company was founded more than 13 years ago, and many of its early products have been integrated in military and mining vehicles. As the technology matures and automakers make investments, Torc has turned its attention toward the passenger-vehicle market and made its intentions more apparent.