Voyant builds compact, inexpensive FMCW lidar systems using silicon photonics that integrate optics, beam handling and sensing on a chip. Its FMCW approach yields millimeter accuracy out to 100 meters, provides instantaneous Doppler velocity, and can use polarization to help discriminate materials (e.g., metal, asphalt, wood, skin, clothing, fur). The company aims to mass-produce chips at commercial fabs and believes unit cost could fall below $100 at scale by using low-cost datacom laser sources (about $5 each) and simplified optics (laser path costs around $30). Voyant is not pursuing a full automotive development cycle due to funding limits and is targeting robotics, mobility, and industrial safety where its small form factor can displace larger, more expensive lidar pucks. CEO Peter Stern joined around the start of the COVID pandemic to commercialize a prototype developed by co-founders Chris Phare and Steven Miller; the company previously raised a seed round in 2019. It plans to ship roughly 200 development units to partners in 2022 and begin taking commercial orders in 2023 as it moves toward production.

Total raised

$15M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Dec 2021