Chinese state-backed car manufacturer BAIC Group has joined the first round of fundraising for RoboSense, a manufacturer of autonomous driving light-detection-and-ranging LiDAR products. The startup raised Rmb300 million $45 million from BAIC along with Alibaba’s logistics affiliate Cainiao and SAIC Group, another state-owned car company.
Proceeds will be used to develop solid-state LiDAR as well as related chips and AI algorithms. LiDAR is a remote sensing method that can be used in advanced driver-assistance systems. The equipment emits laser beams and calculates the distance between emitter and obstacle by measuring the reflected pulses.
RoboSense has a more than 50% market share...