Not all automotive and AV companies have turned outside for lidar needs. Some of the most prominent companies have brought efforts to develop and deploy lidar in-house. Here’s a review of those efforts.
Waymo: The company boasts that its internally developed Laser Bear Honeycomb lidar has been vetted in more than 2 million miles of real-world testing. Waymo sells the Laser Bear to others, though it has been tight-lipped on which companies have been using it.
Argo AI: In 2017, Argo AI purchased Princeton Lightwave, a lidar company in New Jersey. A spokesperson for Argo, which is backed by Ford and Volkswagen, said lidar development was proceeding on schedule and there would be more developments in the near future.
Cruise: Also in 2017, General Motors-backed Cruise acquired Strobe to help drive down lidar costs. Cruise co-founder Kyle Vogt is still watching the lidar space, tweeting in January that it was primed for consolidation.
Aurora: In May 2019, Aurora acquired Blackmore, the Montana startup that pioneered frequency-modulated lidar for automotive applications. Now, Aurora says the acquisition has underpinned its emphasis on autonomous trucking, unlocking the ability to detect objects at longer distances.
Mobileye: The company is best known for supplying camera-based computer vision systems. But in January, it said it was developing its own frequency-modulated lidar for use in AVs starting in 2025.
