Furontier, a specialized company in sensing cameras and process equipment for autonomous vehicles, has decided to make a strategic investment in SolidView, the only domestic fabless company specializing in LiDAR sensors.
On the 31st, Furontier announced that it will invest 500 million KRW in redeemable convertible preferred shares (RCPS) newly issued by SolidView, the only domestic fabless company specializing in LiDAR sensors.
Through this investment decision, Furontier expects synergy in technology cooperation in the autonomous vehicle LiDAR process and equipment sector, as well as commercialization of core components development for robots by its parts division.
SolidView, established in November 2020, is the only company in Korea designing LiDAR sensors?which measure the shape and distance of surrounding objects through reflected lasers?as SoC (System on Chip). It was founded mainly by the semiconductor systems engineering research team at Sungkyunkwan University (Professors Jae-Hyuk Choi and Jung-Hoon Jeon), who have led research on TOF image sensors and CMOS LiDAR sensors, and the electrical and electronic engineering research team at UNIST (Professor Sung-Jin Kim).
Its advantage lies in reducing volume and cost compared to existing mechanical LiDAR sensors, thereby enhancing competitiveness. Having already been recognized for world-class technological capabilities through awards such as ISSCC, SolidView holds numerous differentiated technologies and IP compared to overseas competitors, making its growth highly anticipated.
Currently, based on accumulated technological expertise, SolidView is developing long-range LiDAR sensor ICs for vehicles in collaboration with leading domestic conglomerates, aiming to supply engineering samples (E/S) in the fourth quarter of this year and mass production in the second half of next year. Additionally, through cooperation with domestic LiDAR module companies, it is preparing to launch robot, control, and industrial mid-to-long-range LiDAR sensor ICs next year. SolidView plans to go public (IPO) as early as 2025, based on its unrivaled technological capabilities in the domestic LiDAR sensor field and market validation through the release of mass-produced products responding to increasing future demand.
A Furontier representative stated, “Through this strategic investment, engineers from both companies will be able to lead future autonomous driving technologies through collaborative technology development,” adding, “We will achieve continuous growth of the company by securing new growth engines in the robot and autonomous vehicle markets.”
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