Canada-based optical sensing technology developer LeddarTech secured $101m in funding yesterday from a consortium of investors led by lighting manufacturer Osram.
Automotive components manufacturers Magneti Marelli and Delphi Automotive as well as semiconductor technology producer Integrated Device Technology also participated in the round, as did Fonds de solidarité FTQ, the capital development organisation for Quebec.
LeddarTech, spun out of National Optics Institute in 2007, is working on automotive-grade Lidar technology without any moving parts that uses more affordable and readily available components than similar products.
Lidar technology, a combination of the words light and radar, is a common part of autonomous vehicles. It uses a pulsed laser light and a sensor that measures the reflected pulses to generate a 3D image of the road ahead.
The money will support development efforts, enable the recruitment of additional R&D staff and accelerate ongoing partnerships with automotive manufacturers.
Osram was reported last month to have acquired a 25.1% stake in LeddarTech, though the size of the funding was not disclosed at the time.
LeddarTech previously closed a $16m funding round in 2014, raised over multiple tranches. BDC Capital, the investment arm of state-owned agency Business Development Bank of Canada, and GO Capital co-led the $7m final investment in 2014.
The same two investors had already co-led a $2.5m tranche in 2013 with participation from iSource, Accès Capital and Canadian government-owned fund Desjardins-Innovatech.
In 2010, BDC Venture Capital, Go Capital, I-Source, Accès Capital Québec, and Canadian government-owned vehicle Innovatech Québec et Chaudière-Appalaches had provided the initial $6.5m close.
Glen De Vos, senior vice-president and chief technology officer at Delphi, said: “Delphi aims to be at the forefront of autonomous driving developments and Lidar is a key component thereof.
“We are delighted to partner with LeddarTech to leverage its innovative and proprietary signal processing technology to rapidly commercialize low-cost, high-performing Lidars.”