Australia-based lidar technology developer Baraja secured A$40m ($30.4m) yesterday in a series B round backed by building equipment supplier Hitachi Construction Machinery.
Blackbird Ventures led the round, which included Hesta, Main Sequence Ventures, Regal Funds Management, Perennial Value Management and InterValley Ventures, a fund anchored by financial services group Mizuho Financial through its New Frontier Capital Management affiliate.
Baraja’s lidar system, Spectrum-Scan, steers lasers through a prism. The lasers change colour in the infrared spectrum and the refraction through the prism inside its sensors enables the system to determine the distance and reflectivity of objects.
The approach means sensors can automatically adjust to changing environments, effectively emulating how the human eye adapts its focus. The technology has applications in autonomous cars and in industrial settings such as mines and ports.
The round valued Baraja at $228m, according to the Australian Financial Review. It will use the funding to bolster headcount and accelerate technology development.
Hitachi entered into a two-year strategic partnership with the company in connection with its investment and will work with the startup on testing the technology in complex real-world settings.
Sequoia China, Main Sequence Ventures’ Csiro Innovation Fund and Blackbird Ventures had participated in a $32m series A round for Baraja in July 2019. The same investors had already supplied an undisclosed amount of funding two years earlier.
The company had reportedly received approximately $1.5m of seed funding in 2016, and lists family office Prisma as a shareholder on its website.
The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.