Israel’s LiDar Sensor Tech Startup Innoviz Expands Globally, Opens New HQ

Innoviz Technologies, a leading Israel-based provider of solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software, announced this week the launch of new offices across the world, including the US, China, Japan, and Germany, and the launch of a new headquarters in the central Israeli city of Rosh Ha’ayin. The company has plans for further expansion in 2019, according to a press statement.

“Demand for our solid-state LiDAR offerings continues to invigorate the team and take Innoviz to new heights,” said Omer Keilaf, CEO and co-founder of Innoviz. “Our latest accomplishments are simply a reflection of the outstandingly successful year we’ve had filled with automaker design wins, Tier 1 supplier partnerships, product innovations and awards, and more. Innoviz truly epitomizes how mature LiDAR has the potential to transform the automotive, mapping and robotics industries, to name a few. We look forward to building on this success in 2019.”

The company also inaugurated its new headquarters, a 4,000-square meter facility which will “provide Innoviz with labs, garages for test vehicles, clean rooms and more that expand existing manufacturing capabilities,” the company said in a statement.

The company said all the new locations for foreign offices were selected “based on their proximity to areas of high market demand and/or existing customers who are leveraging the company’s LiDAR for automotive applications (including OEMs, fleet companies, shuttle services and Tier 1 suppliers), mapping, robotics and more.”

In June, Innoviz partnered with Chinese automotive Tier 1 solution provider HiRain Technologies, to bring Innoviz’s LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and computer vision technology to Chinese automakers through HiRain’s sales channels in the country.

Innoviz said its “presence in China uniquely positions the company to support a burgeoning mobility market with OEMs in the country racing to autonomy at speeds that challenge international
rivals.”

In April, Innoviz entered an agreement to supply German auto giant BMW Group with its automotive-grade LiDAR InnovizOne and computer vision software for its autonomous vehicle production

Over the year ahead, Innoviz said it will focus on growing its current team of 200 employees, research and development, optics, MEMs, mechanics, system, hardware, perception software, business operations and sales.

Innoviz was founded in January 2016 by Keilaf, Oren Rosenzweig, Oren Buskila, and Amit Steinberg. The company has raised $82 million to date, including a $73 million Series B funding round in 2017, which included participation from Delphi Automotive and Magna International.