Why We Invested in Spartan (Again!)
We Agree: the hot new technology is…radar!
Today, we are thrilled to share that we are leading a $15 million Series A funding round in Spartan, after leading its $10 million seed round earlier this year. It was an easy decision to double down on the Spartan team having watched them execute for the last 12 months and seeing the market demand for their game-changing biomimetic radar. We were joined in this round by our good friends at 8VC and MaC Venture Capital who have also, like Prime Movers Lab, been involved since the seed round. Prime Movers Lab General Partner, and radar hobbyist, David Siminoff will be joining me on the board. The investment is of particular importance to Mr. Siminoff as his father, Irving, who died this year, was part of the original Army-Navy joint venture which pioneered the use of radar at the close of World War II and for a decade beyond.
We need a leap forward in radar technology to bridge the perception gap for the ADAS industry: current autonomous systems, overwhelmed with camera and lidar data, perform like distracted drivers. Spartan is using new radar techniques to create imaging of unprecedented detail for both drone and automotive applications.
As if reading our minds, Christopher Mims from the Wall Street Journal, recently wrote For Self-Driving Cars, the Hot New Technology Is… Radar. And we couldn’t agree more. Going back to the basics, you likely know radar has been around for a long time, but you probably have heard more about lidar in recent years. Lidar has traditionally had higher resolution but is expensive (thousands of dollars) and operates poorly in inclement weather. Radar is orders of magnitude less expensive but has historically been lower resolution and prone to false detections/alarms.
We know the key to unlocking the promise of autonomy is advanced sensory systems and cost (in vernacular terms it needs to “work better & cost less”). Current radars on the market are just not able to meet the needs of autonomy. Spartan’s solutions change that. Spartan’s biomimetic radar has vastly better image resolution than the current imaging radar market leader. Biomimetic radar integrates advanced sensory algorithms, machine learning, and edge processing to emulate biological perception models — focusing only on what is important for safe navigation. This approach dramatically enhances real-time data processing and leverages proven sensor technology pioneered by aerospace.
Will better radar mean autonomous vehicles won’t need super expensive lidar systems? Maybe. Stay tuned!
We are proud to partner with Nathan Mintz and his team and recognize the potential of a biomimetic radar to positively impact billions of lives with increased accuracy and functionality and reduced auto accidents.
Prime Movers Lab invests in breakthrough scientific startups founded by Prime Movers, the inventors who transform billions of lives. We invest in companies reinventing energy, transportation, infrastructure, manufacturing, human augmentation, and agriculture.
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