Mar 6 2015
TriLumina Corp., the illumination solution for tomorrow's automotive laser radar (LiDAR) and sensing platforms, has closed an $8.5 million Series A round of funding with Boston based Stage 1 Ventures, and with current investors Cottonwood Technology Fund and Sun Mountain Capital, both of Santa Fe, NM. TriLumina will use the funding to support active and future customer integration projects and the company's revenue ramp.
TriLumina has developed a new kind of semiconductor laser that is among the fastest and most powerful laser infrared emitters available. This semiconductor laser technology enables new levels of performance for automotive LiDAR solutions and smart illumination products for both automobiles and consumer devices. The company's small, fast and powerful lasers enable the production of 100% solid-state, high-resolution LiDAR for 3D sensing around vehicles, accelerating the automotive market's move into semi-autonomous and autonomous operation. "LiDAR is the next step for automotive safety enhancements and TriLumina's solid-state LiDAR solutions are an excellent complement to today's radar and vision systems," said David Baum, Managing Director of Stage 1 Ventures.
Stage 1 lead the latest funding round and is leveraging its experience in the automotive industry to support TriLumina's vision, its unique devices, and the promise of providing Automated Driver Assistance Systems that meet stringent automotive requirements for size, performance and reliability. Cottonwood and Sun Mountain Capital originally invested based on the core technology and the promising applications TriLumina's devices enable and continue to support the company in this round. "TriLumina provides the fastest, smallest and most powerful semiconductor emitter of its kind – making laser radar in automobiles a reality," said Kirk Otis, President of TriLumina. "Stage 1 Ventures, Cottonwood and Sun Mountain Capital share our vision for a safer car, better sensors and connectivity, and they are important partners as we develop our products and broaden our customer engagements." Stage 1 Ventures' Managing Director David Baum will join the TriLumina board of directors. With his strong focus on the automotive industry, Baum will play a key role in guiding TriLumina as it builds its relationships with tier 1 suppliers and innovative automotive OEMs.
In addition, TriLumina will use the proceeds to accelerate its development and commercialization of smart illumination technology for consumer products and automotive applications (driver monitoring). TriLumina continues to make rapid strides in the development of products with eyeSight Mobile Technologies, the world's leading gesture based user interface company. "The ongoing collaboration between eyeSight and TriLumina will offer a powerful gesture interface solution for smart TVs, set-top boxes, laptops and mobile devices that works as well in dark rooms as it does in direct sunlight," Gideon Shmuel, CEO of eyeSight said.
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