Growing demand from automakers to enhance vehicles with safer and higher performing advanced driver-assistance systems signals a critical need for sensing solutions to tackle the self-driving industry’s most significant obstacles and deliver safety and comfort despite challenging road conditions.
SOMERVILLE, Mass. -WaveSense, the world’s only provider of Ground Positioning Radar™ (GPR) for precise vehicle localization, announced today it has raised $15 million. This round was led by top technology investors Rhapsody Venture Partners and Impossible Ventures.
Through a proprietary ultra-wide band radar, WaveSense creates a map of subsurface signatures from which self-driving and other ADAS-enabled vehicles can navigate. Through unique design in hardware, software, and systems, WaveSense’s GPR technology allows vehicles to localize and determine their precise location where current AV technologies, including lidar and camera-based systems, fall flat—especially when lane markings are poor, in adverse weather and terrain conditions, and in areas with poor GPS availability.
“Safety is at the heart of the sensor revolution in automotive and safety is about edge cases. Keeping a car in a well marked lane on a sunny road in Arizona is different than driving through a winter wonderland in Boston. Reliable lane keeping is solved uniquely by GPR and in the last year we have seen leading automakers and suppliers recognize that,” said Carsten Boers, Managing Partner at Rhapsody Venture Partners. “This financing helps WaveSense staff up to accelerate our work with leading players in the market. We look forward to supporting WaveSense as they continue to establish GPR to safeguard and accelerate the autonomous driving experience.”
WaveSense plans to advance the integration of their centimeter-level precision technology into consumer vehicles in collaboration with some of the world’s largest automakers and suppliers. The company recently demonstrated centimeter level localization accuracy and reliability on roads without lane markings, during a snowstorm, in a parking garage, and on unpaved terrain.
“By accelerating our product development and work with automakers, we’re changing what is possible in terms of performance and safety for ADAS and autonomous vehicles,” said Tarik Bolat, CEO of WaveSense. “With the assistance of this fundraise, WaveSense is laying the foundation for its path to market and is well-positioned to deliver results for hand-free lanekeeping, autonomous valet parking, and other next generation features that will make vehicles safer and higher performing, even in road conditions that current sensors fail in.”
To bring additional industry experience and to advise on sector growth, WaveSense recently announced the addition of former Ford Motor Company Automotive President, Joe Hinrichs, to its Board of Directors as well as former General Motors CFO, Charles “Chuck” K. Stevens III, and Kurt Lehmann, former CTO of Continental, to its advisory board.
ABOUT WAVESENSE
WaveSense is pioneering the safest and highest performing assisted driving and autonomous capabilities through its Ground Positioning Radar™ (GPR). As the world’s most precise and reliable vehicle positioning system, WaveSense allows vehicles to determine their precise location with centimeter-level accuracy, no matter how challenging road conditions become. WaveSense is working closely with automakers and Tier 1 suppliers to help vehicles safely navigate where current ADAS technologies, including lidar and camera-based systems, fall flat—especially in adverse weather, poorly marked roads, and areas with poor GPS availability. For more information, visit https://wavesense.io/
