Ford Motor Company and Chinese internet giant Baidu on Tuesday said they have invested a combined $150 million in Velodyne, a US company specialising in laser sensors for self-driving cars. The California-based Velodyne said the cash infusion will enable it to quickly expand the design and production of "LiDAR" high-performance sensors for autonomous vehicles.
"From the very beginning of our autonomous vehicle program, we saw LiDAR as key enabler due to its sensing capabilities and how it complements radar and cameras," Ford executive vice president and chief technology officer Raj Nair said in a joint statement.