BYD Invests In LiDAR Maker RoboSense

Chinese automotive giant BYD has made a strategic investment in RoboSense which is a Chinese company that makes LiDARs. RoboSense is one of the leaders in LiDAR hardware, smart sensor software, and semiconductors - basically critical foundational technologies for self-driving cars. 

"The global auto industry is trending towards intelligence, LiDAR is a core part of vehicle intelligence, and the industry market performance shows resource concentration on top performers. RoboSense secured fixed-point project orders of multiple models in 2021, gaining a competitive edge," said Chunxin Qui, the founder and CEO of RoboSense. 

LiDAR's are high-resolution infrared camera like gadgets that allow the car to see beyond what the naked can perceive 

This announcement came at a BYD annual meeting which was dubbed "Focus on innovation, co-build ecology and shape the future." BYD will help RoboSense more closely with electric car makers considering it doesn't just make its own vehicles but also acts as a supplier to many carmakers for powertrain and battery technology. In fact, BYD is even being pursued by Apple for the Apple Car project. 

BYD wants to unlock the potential of the RoboSense LiDAR technology and propel it further in the realm of self-driving cars. The investment amount has not been revealed by either BYD or RoboSense.