USA: Ouster, a leading provider of high-resolution lidar sensors used for autonomous vehicles, robotics, and mapping today announced significant business momentum including a roster of over 400 customers and the addition of over $60 million in funding. The company also announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility currently producing hundreds of sensors per month and capable of producing thousands of lidar sensors per month, and the appointment of Susan Heystee to its board of directors.
The announcements demonstrate that the company’s multi-beam flash lidar technology has significant adoption and momentum in the competitive lidar market. Ouster’s technology is finding its way into virtually every industry where high performance lidar has been used – in addition to some new ones.
While each industry has unique requirements, Ouster has shown that its sensors can be used for many applications. Ouster now counts over 400 customers representing industries from autonomous vehicles to industrial robotics, agriculture, mapping, defense, and drones.
With its all-semiconductor approach to lidar, the company’s 3D sensors are smaller, lighter, more durable, and less expensive than other solutions. Transparent pricing and short 2-3 week lead times for sensor delivery also help the company stand out in a crowded market.
After announcing $27M in Series A capital in December of 2017, Ouster has worked with existing investors and new backers to secure additional funding to accelerate its expansion into new industries and geographic markets and rapid pace of technology development. The additional $60M in equity and debt funding includes investments from Runway Growth Capital and Silicon Valley Bank, as well as additional funding from Series A participants Cox Enterprises, Constellation Tech Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, Carthona, and others.
The additional investment has helped to develop Ouster’s product lines, including the launch of the OS-1-128 lidar sensor, and fund the expansion of its production facilities.
Ouster is especially proud to announce the grand opening of its new manufacturing center at its headquarters in San Francisco. The facility includes space for nearly a hundred manufacturing staff, reliability and quality assurance equipment, and sensor calibration that is included with every sensor. The manufacturing facility will have the capacity to assemble, calibrate, and ship several thousand sensors per month toward the end of 2019.
