Stellantis Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Stellantis N.V., has announced its investment in SteerLight, a pioneer in the development of advanced LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensing technology.
SteerLight’s LiDAR system, powered by silicon photonics technology, offers enhanced three-dimensional sensing capabilities with superior resolution and precision compared to existing systems, all at a reduced production cost. This breakthrough has significant potential to enhance the performance of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), including automated driving, in future Stellantis brand vehicles.
SteerLight, a spinoff of the French CEA-Leti technology center, uses Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) LiDAR technology, utilizing silicon photonics to integrate the system onto a microchip. This approach ensures a robust and compact system without any moving parts, offering maximum flexibility for vehicle engineers. SteerLight’s solution addresses key challenges in current LiDAR technology for vehicles, such as component size and high cost, while its FMCW technology delivers highly accurate depth and velocity data while resisting interference from the surrounding environment and other users.
Since its establishment in 2022, Stellantis Ventures has invested in 12 startups and one mobility fund, focusing on advancing cutting-edge technologies that enhance outcomes for individual customers and society as a whole.
“A central aspect of our Dare Forward 2030 initiatives is identifying groundbreaking technologies that deliver substantial value to our customers on a large scale,” said Ned Curic, Stellantis Chief Engineering & Technology Officer. “Automated driving enhancements remain a top priority at Stellantis. The game-changing work at SteerLight can enable enhanced and widespread ADAS applications.”
“We see a great benefit from having Stellantis’ corporate venture fund recognize our innovation so we can unlock large-scale adoption of LiDAR for industrial and mobility applications,” added François Simoens, co-founder and CEO of SteerLight. “Our new LiDAR technology is key to support new services in the automotive industry, and we are looking forward to working together to advance the next generation of vehicles.”
