US-based 3D imaging technology developer TetraVue has raised $10m in a series A round co-led by Robert Bosch Venture Capital (RBVC), the corporate venturing arm of industrial product manufacturer Robert Bosch.
The round, which was co-led by venture capital firm Nautilus Venture Partners, also featured contract manufacturer Foxconn and Samsung Catalyst Fund, a subsidiary of electronics producer Samsung.
Founded in 2008, TetraVue has built a camera that captures high-definition (HD) images in three dimensions and at long ranges. The camera uses light detection and ranging (lidar) technology, which measures distances by shining laser beams at a specific target.
HD lidar promotes safe driving by enabling an autonomous car to “see” at long ranges and identify objects accurately, so that the car’s onboard computer can for example tell if a black spot on the road is a rock or a plastic bag, allowing the car to respond appropriately.
The series A capital will be spent on commercialising TetraVue’s technology, by building partnerships with autonomous car manufacturers and artificial intelligence software developers serving the automotive industry.
Luis Llovera, managing director of RBVC, said: “TetraVue is unparalleled to any other existing technologies in the three-dimensional flash lidar space.
“We see its technology as being key to the enhancement and development of the autonomous car industry, which will be the future of transportation as we know it.”
TetraVue’s technology is also intended for use in manufacturing, engineering and robotics, as well as for virtual and augmented reality applications in gaming and filming.