Ford’s Argo AI Acquires LiDAR Supplier Princeton Lightwave
In an article penned for Medium, Argo AI CEO Bryan Salesky announced that the company has acquired Cranbury, New Jersey-based Geiger-mode LiDAR supplier Princeton Lightwave. In February, Ford invested $1 billion in Argo AI to acquire majority ownership of the artificial intelligence startup, which will be integral in the automaker’s strides toward developing and mass-manufacturing fully autonomous vehicles.
Writes Salesky in his article, “How Acquiring a Team of LiDAR Experts Strengthens our Self-Driving Future”:
To accelerate our mission to realize the self-driving future, Argo has acquired Princeton Lightwave, a company with extensive experience in the development and commercialization of LiDAR sensors. The technology that underpins their lineup of LiDAR sensors—which already serve the commercial mapping and defense industries—will help us extend the range and resolution needed to achieve self-driving capability in challenging urban environments. Princeton Lightwave’s technology also complements and expands the capability of LiDAR sensors already available to the automotive industry today.
The terms and price of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Salesky notes that Argo AI’s purchase of Princeton Lightwave will advance the development of its virtual driver system, which is its key objective over the next five years as Ford ramps up toward SAE level four and level five autonomous vehicles. It will also help lower the cost of LiDAR technology; Ford also invested $75 million in LiDAR sensor manufacturer Velodyne in August 2016, but according to Reuters, that startup’s technology is still deemed too expensive for more widespread use.
Princeton Lightwave was founded in 2000; current executive officers include Dr. Mark Itzler, CEO and CTO; Dr. Sabbir Rangwala; President and COO; and Dr. Yves Dzialowski, Executive Chairman.
News Source: Reuters
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