Silicon Valley-based automotive radar startup, Altos Radar, has successfully raised $3.5 million in seed round funding to accelerate the development and commercialization of its 4D imaging radar technology for driver-assisted and autonomous vehicles.
The funding round, led by Hesai Technology CEO David (Yifan) Li, ZhenFund, and Monad Ventures, will support the mass production and marketing of Altos Radar’s innovative 4D imaging RADAR Altos V1. This advanced radar system showcases groundbreaking perception capabilities while maintaining a competitive cost advantage compared to its peers.
Altos Radar’s focus on high-performance 4D imaging radars is in response to the opening up of the 76-81GHz frequency band for automotive radar use by regulatory bodies like the FCC. This change has enabled the production of smaller, high-resolution radars, ushering in opportunities for more sophisticated radar-based sensing solutions.
Altos Radar distinguishes itself through its real-time, on-board computed, LIDAR-like point clouds generated by its radar technology. The Altos V1 radar offers long-range detection and produces a point cloud with up to 3,000 points per frame at 10 frames per second. Notably, the team has achieved impressive performance on low-cost, mass-produced automotive System on Chips (SOCs), resulting in a production-ready 4D imaging radar with compelling advantages in terms of cost, reliability, and scalability.
The key innovation of Altos Radar’s technology lies in overcoming the limitations of traditional radar systems, such as lack of height information, low angular resolution, and suboptimal signal-noise performance. The Altos V1 radar aims to address these challenges and provide far-reaching detection capabilities spanning hundreds of meters, accurate velocity measurement, and robust performance in adverse weather conditions.
The company’s leadership team comprises experts in electronics design, signal processing algorithms, compute optimization, and radar perception for autonomous vehicles. These professionals bring extensive experience from notable industry players like Hitachi, ZF, Huawei, Pony.ai, Apple, and Lyft.
The growing market demand for advanced radar solutions aligns well with Altos Radar’s mission. Yole’s 2022 Automotive Radar Report estimates significant growth in the 4D imaging radar market, potentially reaching $8 billion by 2027. Additionally, projections from McKinsey’s Autonomous Driving’s Future Report suggest substantial revenues from the autonomous driving market, with potential figures reaching $400 billion by 2035.
Altos Radar’s progress represents a step forward in enhancing the capabilities of radar technology for autonomous vehicles, contributing to the evolution of the automotive industry towards safer and more efficient transportation solutions.
