LiDAR Wars Instant: Quanergy Focuses on Cost-Performance with $90 Million |

Quanergy Systems is a Silicon Valley start-up company specializing in light sensors and distance sensors in self-driving cars. According to "Fortune" on August 22nd, Quanergy Systems has raised $90 million from its investors, indicating that investment institutions are paying increasing attention to the driverless car technology.

The financing line led by Sensata Technologies includes auto parts maker Delphi, Samsung Ventures, Motus Ventures and Jinpu Industrial Investment. Louay Eldada, CEO of Quanergy Systems, told reporters that after financing, Quanergy Systems' total financing raised to US$150 million, and the companyâ€™s valuation will be as high as US$1.59 billion.

Self-driving cars rely on the coordination of various sensors, cameras, and GPS to sense the surroundings of the vehicle so that they can safely navigate through city streets and highways. Most automakers develop self-driving cars that rely on light-sensitive radar (such as LiDAR).

The LiDAR sensor continuously emits laser short pulses to the outside environment of the vehicle. The on-board software creates a real-time, high-definition image of the 3D vehicle surroundings by analyzing the pulse return information. Various sensors in the vehicle emit millions of laser pulses per second to monitor objects in the vicinity of the vehicle to determine an optimal driving route, and LiDAR is also very effective when the lane line is not obvious or absent.

Google autopilot test vehicle and Ford under the LiDAR sensors are used, but the Achilles heel LiDAR sensors are characterized by high cost odd. For example, the first-generation LiDAR system developed by Velodyne costs up to $80,000, and the cost of Velodyne's new prototype system for unmanned vehicle testing has dropped to $8,000.

The high cost of LiDAR sensors is clearly a victory for some companies and capitalists, perhaps by trying to make affordable, reliable products to seize the market. Just last week, Ford Motor Co., Ltd. and Baidu Corporation injected a total of US$150 million into Velodyne , which was a major supplier of LiDAR sensors. This capital injection will help Velodyne reduce the cost of LiDAR sensors to around $100 or even lower in 2018.

Quanergy was named the top ten automotive start-up company by the Connected Car Expo (CCE) at the Los Angeles Auto Show and is also seeking to build a cheaper LiDAR sensor. As early as January of this year, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company, introduced the S3 solid-state LiDAR sensor. The sensor costs only $250, and costs will decrease once it is mass-produced. The company also developed a S3-Qi version sensor for smaller drones with simplified features that cost as little as $100.

Eldada said that the new round of financing of $90 million will be used to increase the capacity of Sensata Technologies and Flex's partners. Sensata Technologies, a former Texas Instruments sensor division, is responsible for the production of on-board sensors. (Flex is Flextronics, a global electronics manufacturer that is responsible for the production of safety, industrial automation, and 3D graphics sensors.)

At the same time, Sensata Technologies and Flex are building Quanergy's S3 LiDAR sensor production line, which is expected to start production in the fourth quarter of this year and will reach its maximum capacity in the first quarter of 2017. Eldada believes that although automotive sensors are Quanergyâ€™s core development goals, sensors in the security sector will become the companyâ€™s largest market demand in the short term.

Five car manufacturers now have Quanergy's LiDAR sensors on their self-driving cars. Eldada did not disclose specific company names, but according to him, vehicles equipped with Quanergy's LiDAR sensors will be available as early as 2018 for mining and agricultural driverless cars.