Innoviz Technologies Sees Lidar Momentum Rebounding as Defense, Physical AI Demand Grows

Innoviz Technologies Sees Lidar Momentum Rebounding as Defense, Physical AI Demand Grows Innoviz Technologies INVZ Chief Financial Officer Eldar Cegla said the lidar industry is seeing renewed momentum in automotive applications and growing demand in non-automotive markets tied to “Physical AI,” during a fireside chat at TD Cowen’s TMT Conference. Speaking with TD Cowen analyst Itay Michaeli, Cegla described Physical AI as systems that must interact with the real world in real time and therefore require strong perception capabilities. He said cameras remain widely used, but 3D sensors such as lidar can provide an AI system with a more detailed view of its surroundings by pinpointing objects in the environment. Cegla said the automotive lidar market has gone through a hype cycle and a subsequent slowdown, but is now in a more mature phase. He said the industry has a better understanding of the sensors required to support safe autonomous driving, with companies such as Mobileye and NVIDIA providing computing platforms that use sensor data to make driving decisions. Defense and Security Seen as Near-Term Growth Areas Cegla said Innoviz began expanding its market focus beyond automotive more than a year ago, initially exploring areas such as smart cities, intelligent transportation systems and construction. More recently, he said the company has seen growing demand from security and defense applications, including situational awareness, perimeter security and automated systems that must navigate their environments. “We see that there is a real sense of urgency in these kinds of applications and an actual missing link or sensory level, which is not accommodated for by cameras and radars because they have certain shortcomings,” Cegla said. In non-automotive markets, Cegla said Innoviz does not intend to act as a Tier 1 supplier as it does in automotive programs. Instead, the company expects to supply lidar