Solid-State LiDAR Startup Ready to Ramp Up Production
Quanergy Systems, a Silicon Valley startup that makes light detection and ranging sensors LiDAR used in self-driving cars, has raised $90 million from investors, illustrating their growing interest in autonomous vehicle technology.
The funding round, led by Sensata Technologies, also included investments from auto parts manufacturer Delphi Automotive , Samsung Ventures, Motus Ventures, and GP Capital. Quanergy’s post-funding valuation is $1.59 billion, CEO Louay Eldada told Fortune.
This investment brings the company’s total funds raised to about $150 million.
LiDAR emits short pulses of laser light so that software in the self-driving vehicle can create a real-time, high-definition 3D image of what’s around it. These sensors shoot out millions of laser pulses a second to detect nearby objects and determine the best driving path.
LiDAR can be particularly useful on roads with faded on non-existent lane markings. But LiDAR sensors are also incredibly expensive. For instance, some of the first LiDAR systems developed by Velodyne cost $80,000. That price has fallen to about $8,000 today for Velodyne’s latest prototype, which is used in the testing of autonomous vehicles.
In January, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company introduced a solid state LiDAR sensor, called the S3, that is supposed to cost $250 or less once it reaches production volume. The company has also developed a much smaller and simplified version of this sensor called the S3-Qi that costs about $100 and is designed for drones.
The $90 million in new funding will be used to ramp up production with two partners in the transportation sector and security space. Sensata Technologies, the former sensing division of Texas Instruments, will produce the sensors for automotive. Flex, the global electronics manufacturer formerly known as Flextronics, will produce the sensors for security, industrial automation, and 3D mapping applications.
Both companies are building production lines for Quanergy’s S3 LiDAR sensors with plans to be operating by the fourth quarter. The expectation is for both production lines to be at full capacity within the first three months of 2017.
Quanergy’s LiDAR sensors are being used by five automakers that are developing automated vehicles. The earliest that a consumer could buy a vehicle equipped with Quanergy’s LiDAR will be 2018. The LiDAR could be deployed sooner on non-passenger vehicles used mining and agriculture industries. – Article published on Fortune.
