Blickfeld, a Munich-based LiDAR startup, announced that it has secured €15M in financing from The European Investment Bank (EIB), under the EIB’s venture debt programme.
The EIB allocates long-term funding to sound projects that meet the European Union’s objectives in Europe and globally. The EIB’s venture debt programme is tailored to the specific financing needs of high-growth innovative companies.
How will the funding be used?
The German company will use the capital to accelerate the development of its LiDAR solutions in autonomous driving and several industrial applications and to expand its position in key international markets, including the US and Asia.
Mathias Müller, founder, and CEO of Blickfeld says, “The EIB’s support is testimony to Blickfeld’s maturity as a company and the confidence that those responsible have in the potential of our LiDAR technology. The capital provided by the EIB is the ideal financial instrument for us to expand even faster. We are convinced that our LiDAR solutions will make a real difference for many industries and we are very pleased that the EIB has recognised an important innovative technology that will strengthen Europe’s position as a key centre of industry and business.”
Provides 3D LiDAR products
Founded in 2017 by Mathias Muller, Blickfeld is a provider of 3D LiDAR products and perception software for autonomous vehicles and IoT applications. To reiterate, LiDAR stands for light detection and ranging and is a method for capturing the environment.
In this technology, light is used in the form of a pulsed laser to recognise, categorise and count objects. LiDAR sensors generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape and surface properties of surrounding objects.
The technology is used in the data protection-compliant collection of the vehicle and people flow in retail and public places.
Today’s focus is on software-defined LiDAR technology to make the solutions increasingly powerful and flexible and to bring analysis capability directly to the device.
The German company is financially supported by Bayern Kapital, Continental, Fluxunit – ams OSRAM Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, New Future Capital (NFC), Tengelmann Ventures and UVC Partners.
At present, the company employs around 130 people. Also, the company is currently opening regional offices in international markets such as the US and China.
EIB Vice-President Ambroise Fayolle, who is responsible for Germany and EFSI, says, “With our venture debt program, we support innovative young companies that need long-term growth capital to fully focus on the further development of their products and their global marketing. The funding of Blickfeld shows the EIB’s strong commitment to supporting innovative early-stage companies to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness.”
European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni says, “Thanks to this EIB financing, backed by the Investment Plan for Europe, German technology company Blickfeld will be able to scale up and further develop its innovative 3D light detection and ranging solutions. The funding will support the creation of completely new areas of application, be it in autonomous driving and smart mobility, in the construction industry, or in agriculture. Investments such as these not only strengthen the competitiveness of Europe’s industry but also contribute to more efficient and sustainable supply chains.”
