High-Resolution Radar Startup Arbe Robotics Raises $9 million

Tel Aviv-based high-resolution radar startup Arbe Robotics raised $9 million, the company announced last week.

Founded in 2015, Arbe Robotics initially focused on developing a collision avoidance system for drones before transitioning to the autonomous vehicle industry. The startup is now developing an imaging radar system for autonomous cars.

Radar and LiDAR are currently the two technologies that seem to be at the forefront of autonomous vehicle development. LiDAR, which relies on infrared light pulses to measure the distance and speed of objects, is considered more accurate but is more susceptible to bad weather conditions. It is also rather expensive currently. Radar, which relies on radio waves for signal detection, is not considered as precise as LiDAR, but it is less expensive and not as affected by weather.

According to Arbe, its patented imaging system solves two problems associated with radar: low resolution and high false alarm rates. Its 4D modeling algorithm provides a cost-effective, long range, high-resolution radar solution that enables level 4 full autonomous driving, the company said.

Arbe intends to use the funding round to bring its radar system into full production, enabling its technology to be installed in autonomous cars within the upcoming year. Arbe also intends to open its first customer service support center in Silicon Valley in January.

The funding round was led by O.G. Tech Ventures, a venture capital fund recently launched by Israeli-born business magnate Eyal Ofer, that focuses on early growth Israel-based start-ups, and OurCrowd, a Jerusalem-based equity crowdfunding firm for early-stage start-ups. Existing shareholders venture capital firm Canaan Partners, Tel Aviv-based investment firm iAngels, and seed-stage venture fund Taya Ventures also participated.