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LIDAR is one of the three major autonomous vehicle sensors. The technology has enabled self-driving cars to see more details than they would normally detect on radars and cameras.
For this reason, major self-driving car companies including Google’s Waymo are employing LIDAR technology in their driverless car development.
It’s no wonder the LIDAR market was valued at $1.1 billion in 2019 by Grand View Research and is expected to grow at 13.4% over the next seven years.
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Self-driving car sensors like LIDAR are highly valuable to the development of autonomous cars and this can’t be overstressed. With driverless cars expected to roll out by or before 2025, the market demand for LIDAR technology is surging as expected.
And here are the leading companies developing and supplying LIDAR technology today:
1. Ouster, Inc.
Ouster, Inc. is a technology company that designs and manufactures high-resolution digital lidar sensors and enabling software that offers 3D vision to machinery, vehicles, robots, and fixed infrastructure assets.
Its product portfolio includes OS, a scanning sensor; and DF, a solid-state flash sensor.
The company established itself as the leader in the LiDAR market after a 2023 merger with another LiDAR powerhouse, Velodyne LiDAR.
The company is based in San Francisco, California.
2. Luminar
Luminar is an autonomous vehicle sensor and software company with the vision to power every autonomous vehicle by delivering the only LiDAR capable of making them both safe and ubiquitous.
Founded in 2012, Luminar is a 350-person team across Palo Alto, Orlando and Colorado Springs, and has raised more than $250M from prominent venture funds.
Today, 12 of the world’s top 15 automotive companies are working with Luminar’s breakthrough technology as part of their global autonomous development programs, including Volvo Cars, Toyota Research Institute, and VW/Audi’s subsidiary, AID.
3. AEye
AEye develops advanced vision hardware, software, and algorithms that act as the eyes and visual cortex of autonomous vehicles.
Since the demonstration of its solid-state LiDAR scanner, AEye has pioneered breakthroughs in intelligent sensing.
Founded in 2013 by Luis Dussan, Ransom Wuller, and Barry Behnken, AEye is headquartered in Dublin, California.
4. Microvision, Inc.
MicroVision, Inc. develops and sells lidar sensors used in automotive safety and autonomous driving applications.
Its laser beam scanning technology is based on micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS), laser diodes, opto-mechanics, electronics, algorithms, and software.
The company also develops micro-display concepts and designs for head-mounted augmented reality (AR) headsets, as well as 1440i MEMS module supporting AR headsets; interactive display solutions for the smart speakers market; and Consumer Lidar used in smart home systems.
In 2022, MicroVision acquired Ibeo Automotive Systems, another major player in the LiDAR sensor technology market. The acquisition combines MAVIN LiDAR with Ibeo perception software features into the MicroVision ASIC for automotive OEMs.
It sells its products primarily to original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers.
MicroVision, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington
5. Baraja
Baraja is a deep technology company that is reinventing LiDAR for self-driving vehicles.
It invented a new type of LiDAR called Spectrum-Scan which delivers the highest performance available to address the challenge of self-driving cars.
Baraja is a rapidly growing start-up, with a revolutionary LiDAR for self-driving vehicles.
The company is based in Sydney, Australia, with offices in China and the USA.
It is quickly expanding worldwide, hiring through Europe and Asia, closely collaborating with car manufacturers to iterate and refine its vision of what LiDAR needs to be.
6. Hesai Technology
Hesai Technology is a global leader in three-dimensional light detection and ranging (LiDAR) solutions.
The Company’s LiDAR products enable a broad spectrum of applications across passenger and commercial vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle fleets (autonomous mobility).
Hesai has established strong relationships with leading automotive OEMs, autonomous vehicle, and robotics companies worldwide, covering over 90 cities in 40 countries.
As of December 31, 2022, Hesai has shipped over 100,000 LiDAR units in total.
Hesai Technology is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
7. Innoviz Technologies
Innoviz is a leading manufacturer of high-performance, solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software that enable the mass-production of autonomous vehicles.
InnovizPro is a solid-state LiDAR that offers outstanding performance and value for automotive and other applications.
InnovizOne and InnovizTwo are cutting-edge, automotive-grade LiDAR sensors that provides superior 3D sensing for Level 3-Level 5 autonomous driving.
Innoviz is backed by top-tier strategic partners and investors, including Magna International, Samsung, Aptiv, Magma Venture Partners, Vertex Ventures, SoftBank Ventures Asia, and others.
8. Aeva
Aeva develops a new sensing & perception paradigm for autonomous machines. Its technology brings together the best of vision, depth, and motion sensors into a single product with superior performance.
Compared to today’s best in class, it provides greater range and resolution across weather conditions and a new dimension to precisely measure velocity of every pixel in the scene.
Founded in 2016, Aeva is based in Mountain View, California.
9. Cepton Technologies
Cepton Technologies is an electrical and electronics company that provides 3D sensing solutions designed for LiDAR products for automotive, industrial, and mapping markets.
It specializes in industrial robotics, security, 3D perception, and sensors.
The company was founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Jose, California.
10. RoboSense
RoboSense is a global leader in the LiDAR and perception solutions market, with a complete portfolio of LiDAR sensors, AI perception and IC chipsets.
The company has received 52 design wins from 21 OEMS and Tier1 suppliers, and achieved SOP for 9 vehicle models from 7 customers.
RoboSense served over 2,000 customers in the robotics and other non-auto industries.
Cumulatively, the company has delivered over 100,000 LiDAR units, making it one of the top producers of LiDAR sensors.
RoboSense is headquartered in Shenzhen, China.
Henry John is a Stock Portfolio Manager that focuses on companies developing cutting-edge technologies.
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6 thoughts on “Top 10 Lidar Companies in 2023”
What I find sad is that MicroVision, Inc. hasn’t been included. The company has mentioned their specs of their lidar they’re developing that out performs the “claims” that the others have mentioned. This coming week will really show true who will be a superior product or have a better future. There is quite a lot of competition and I’m certain MicroVision will surely be noticed.
Check out this article: https://www.ai4beginners.com/5-lidar-technology-stocks-for-autonomous-driving-boom-2021/
Check Ibeo and their IbeoNext.
To the best of my knowledge, they are the first and only company with fully solid state LiDAR solutions. They use
“Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers” solution by AMD
Other manufacturers are using designs with micro mirrors (MEMS), which is “quasi Solid state” and likely to be less durable.
This is probably the LIDAR in WEY Mocha that recently started shipping, but neither Ibeo nor Great Wall Motors have officially confirmed it yet.
Thanks for your input. I looked into the company and I found out that they’re truly a strong force in the LIDAR space.
Im sorry.. am I just SLOW? Or is microvision Inc not number 4 in this list of Lidar front runners? Just saying.
There are one or possibly two next generation LiDAR sensors that are coming out of the lab now. Going to make everything else look antiquated and slow.
TOF LiDAR will never make it to level 5 autonomous driving.