Startup Behind Pedestrian Safety Sensors Raises $30M

An Israeli startup behind car sensors that can spot a pedestrian from 200 meters has raised $30 million.

Adasky’s thermal sensor, which is about the size of a wine cork, is implemented in cars to help improve pedestrian safety.

It absorbs thermal energy and heat emitted by objects around it, and can pick up slight changes in temperature, making it able to differentiate between living beings and artificial objects. The algorithm translates the heat so that the vehicle can identify the objects.

Adasky says its sensors’ detection abilities are better than that of other types of vehicle sensors such as lidar (light detection and ranging), radar, and cameras in extreme conditions – like darkness, heavy rain, fog, and blinding sunlight. 

The funds were invested by Gentex, an American corporation that develops smart cameras and other technologies for the automotive market. 

“Gentex is exactly the right strategic partner for Adasky to complement our existing shareholders. We have the same excellence-driven engineering and innovation focus that will help propel us to expand markets and applications,” said Adasky’s CEO, Yakov Shaharabani.

“With Gentex’s global footprint and capability, we will be able to meet the demand we are seeing for our thermal camera.”

Adasky was established in 2015, and is based in Yokneam, northern Israel. It has raised $55 million to date, including from the Japanese electronics corporation Kyocera and the South Korean auto parts manufacturer Sungwoo Hitech.