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Delphi Buys Stake in Israeli Lidar Company

Delphi Automotive plc has made an unspecified minority investment in Israel-based Innoviz Technologies Inc., a two-year-old maker of solid-state lidar sensors for self-driving vehicles.

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Delphi Automotive plc has made an unspecified minority investment in Innoviz Technologies Inc., a two-year-old maker of solid-state lidar sensors for self-driving vehicles, as the lead investor in the Israel-based company’s second round of funding.

Delphi says the relationship will help it develop long-range sensors required for highly autonomous level 4 and 5 driving systems. The company will continue its two-year-old equity partnership with Silicon Valley-based Quanergy Systems Inc., which also is developing solid-state lidar devices.

Glen De Vos, Delphi’s chief technology officer, says his company aims to begin marketing a suite of solid-state sensors for autonomous vehicles by 2020. He says the company is convinced that high-level self-driving systems will require a combination of lidar, radar and cameras to ensure accurate perception of their environments.

Innoviz specializes in MEMS-based (micro-electro-mechanical system) solid-state lidar, which De Vos says is geared toward highway applications. Quanergy’s lidar uses a photo-optical solid-state technology that is better suited for city driving.

De Vos expects level 3 autonomous vehicles to initially use both of the solid-state systems. But he says costs must be reduced from several thousand dollars per sensor today to $250 or less. De Vos says Delphi chose to invest in Innoviz over other companies developing MEMS lidar because of the company’s systems capabilities and focus on automotive applications.

 

Gardner Business Media - Strategic Business Solutions