In brief: Self-driving startup Baraja banks $32m funding from Sequoia, others

Baraja, the creator of spectrum-scan light detection and ranging (Lidar) for autonomous vehicles, announced today a series A investment of US$32 million from Sequoia China, Blackbird Ventures, and the CSIRO (Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Innovation Fund managed by Main Sequence Ventures.

Baraja, which in July 2018 launched a novel Lidar system that uses prism-like optics and shifting wavelengths of light to create powerful eyes for self-driving vehicles, will use the funding to scale production, hire talent, and continue its mission to enable safer autonomous driving.

Source: Baraja

Sydney-based Baraja said that its “spectrum-scan” approach to Lidar – which is essentially an updated form of radar using pulsed laser beams to map the environment – enables self-driving software to “instantaneously change scan resolution and adapt to the environment, similar to how humans can control their visual focus.”

This addresses “scalability, reliability, vehicle integration, and performance issues that afflict incumbent Lidar technologies,” it claims.

The startup also said it will be ramping up manufacturing capabilities and accelerating its expansion in Asia and North America. In addition to Sydney, it has offices in San Francisco and Shanghai.