Lumotive Secures $14M for Liquid Crystal Beamforming Chips

Lumotive Inc. recently secured $14 million in a funding round. This capital came from Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund and ITHCA Group. The investment extends Lumotive's Series B round, which previously closed at $45 million in February.

Lumotive develops liquid crystal beamforming chips. These chips direct laser beams for lidar sensors, which map surroundings in 3D. Traditionally, lidar units used bulky mechanical parts. Lumotive's technology removes moving components, consequently lowering production costs and boosting hardware reliability.

The company's flagship LM10 chip steers laser light. It reflects beams off its surface towards objects. This Lumotive beamforming chip uses Light Control Metasurface technology, employing microscopic liquid crystal optical components. The LM10's reflection angle adjusts by running current through the chip. For instance, a vehicle's lidar can configure the LM10 for a wide field of view in urban settings. Conversely, on a highway, it can focus on the space directly ahead.

Advancing Lidar Technology

Lumotive's LM10 chip works with various laser emitters, including EEL and VCSEL modules. EEL chips offer higher brightness for long-range sensing. VCSEL modules provide increased power-efficiency.

The company also sells development kits alongside its LM10 chip. These kits include software and components, shortening sensor development to a few months. Beyond lidar, Lumotive's technology has broader applications. For example, a data center switch could manage light flow in fiber optics using a Lumotive beamforming chip.

This new funding will help Lumotive grow its presence in the industrial sector. It will also support onboarding more international customers. Competitors in the lidar space include Velodyne Lidar and Luminar Technologies, which also aim to innovate sensing solutions.