LG Innotek has announced a strategic partnership with Aeva, including an investment of up to US$ 50 million in the US-based perception technology company.

LG Innotek is a South Korea-based manufacturer of electronic components and an affiliate of LG Group.

The collaboration aims to combine Aeva’s Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) lidar technology with LG Innotek’s manufacturing capabilities to develop sensing solutions for automotive, industrial automation, robotics, and consumer electronics.

As part of the partnership, LG Innotek will manufacture and supply Aeva’s Atlas Ultra 4D LiDAR sensors to Aeva, and the companies will co-develop new products for industrial automation and robotics.

Both companies also plan to explore applications for FMCW sensing in consumer devices such as smartphones and AR/VR headsets.

🔗 Source: LG Innotek

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ LiDAR’s journey from concept to consumer markets spans nearly a century

The Aeva-LG Innotek partnership represents a significant milestone in LiDAR’s long commercial evolution, which began with E.H. Synge’s initial concept in the 1930s1.

The technology required decades of development before achieving commercial viability, from the first laser in 1960 and prototype in 1961 to initial commercial applications starting in 19621.

Even after early commercialization, LiDAR remained largely confined to specialized applications like NASA’s lunar mapping during the Apollo 15 mission in the 1970s and topographic surveying1.

The partnership’s focus on consumer devices like smartphones, tablets, and AR/VR headsets signals LiDAR’s potential transition from a specialized industrial tool to mainstream consumer technology.

This represents a significant expansion from the mid-1990s when LiDAR systems capable of 2,000 to 25,000 pulses per second were considered cutting-edge primarily for urban planning and geological studies1.

2️⃣ Manufacturing partnerships crucial for LiDAR’s mass market breakthrough

LG Innotek’s global manufacturing scale addresses a critical bottleneck that has historically limited LiDAR adoption beyond specialized applications.

The company’s existing relationships as a trusted supplier to major consumer electronics brands position Aeva’s technology for integration into mass-produced devices where LiDAR has struggled to gain traction2.