Israeli-based Innoviz, which makes the InnovizPro and InnovizOne solid state Lidar sensors, raises $132M Series C, bringing the total raised to $214M
Kyle Wiggers / VentureBeat :
Context & Ripple Effects
Innoviz's $132M Series C is the third act in a funding arc that began with its $65M round backed by Delphi and Magna in 2017, and it lands just as the company discloses two bigger milestones: an existing BMW deal and a planned SPAC merger at a $1.4B valuation expected to close in Q1 2021. The raise takes total funding to $214M, all behind solid-state sensors (InnovizPro and InnovizOne) rather than mechanical lidar.
The competitive frame comes from Innovusion, which has climbed the same ladder on a parallel track — a $30M Series A and first image-grade system in 2018, then a Temasek-led Series B, then a $66M Series B-plus taking it to $180M raised. Both companies are racing to convert venture capital into automotive design wins before the market consolidates.
First-order effects
- Innoviz gets the balance sheet to industrialize InnovizPro and InnovizOne production and deliver on its BMW commitment, with strategic backers Magna and Aptiv positioned as both investors and potential manufacturing channels.
Second-order effects
- Rival Innovusion's escalating rounds — capped by the $66M Series B-plus — show competitors matching Innoviz raise-for-raise, while auto suppliers Delphi, Magna, and Magneti keep spreading bets across multiple lidar makers rather than picking one winner.
Third-order effects
- With Innoviz headed to public markets via a $1.4B SPAC, lidar is shifting from a venture-funded science project to a publicly capitalized auto-supply business, where OEM design wins — not sensor specs — decide which firms survive consolidation.
The trend: Automotive lidar is consolidating around supplier-backed startups that use ever-larger rounds to lock in OEM deals and reach public listings before the field thins.