PARIS (Reuters) – Stellantis announced on Wednesday that it would take a stake in the optical radar start-up SteerLight in order to strengthen its position in this central sensor technology for autonomous driving functions.
The automobile manufacturer born from the merger between PSA and FCA intends to diversify its sources of supply for Lidars and accelerate the development of tailor-made components.
“We are going to have more and more (…) a direct discussion with start-ups to integrate what is strategic (…) in order to be able to bring it to market more quickly, without waiting for a supplier to develop it “, said Vincent Abadie, autonomous driving expert at Stellantis, during a press conference call.
The amount of the investment, made via the Stellantis Ventures structure, has not been made public.
SteerLight also announced the arrival of two other shareholders: the fund specializing in quantum technologies Quantonation, founded in particular by entrepreneur Charles Beigbeder, and the Italian venture capital company Liftt.
One of the many spin-offs of the public micro and nanotechnology research center CEA-Leti, SteerLight has developed a Lidar presented as more compact and cheaper to produce than competing products.
Since its creation in 2022, Stellantis Ventures has invested in twelve start-ups and a mobility fund.
(Report by Gilles Guillaume, edited by Jean Terzian)
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