Velodyne Lidar has announced that Nikon Corporation has become a new strategic investor with an investment of $25M, and that the two companies have begun discussions for a multifaceted business alliance, combining Nikon’s optical and precision technologies with Velodyne’s sensor technology. Both companies have begun investigating a wide-ranging business relationship, including collaboration in technology development and manufacturing.
Velodyne believes the relationship will advance the timeline for manufacturing and mass production of lidar for the autonomous and advanced safety global market. The companies share a futuristic vision of advanced perception technology for a wide range of applications including autonomous driving, robotics, mapping, security, shuttles, drones, and safety on roadways.
“Velodyne is creating a network of powerful alliances supporting the global autonomous vehicle industry,” said David Hall, Velodyne Lidar’s Founder and CEO. “One hundred years ago, optics and camera technologies like Nikon’s helped people to see better. Now, the basis of those technologies is helping computers see.”
