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Indie Semiconductor and SiLC Technologies Form Strategic Technology Partnership to Deliver World-Class FMCW LiDAR Solution
ALISO VIEJO and MONROVIA, Calif., August 3, 2023 – indie Semiconductor (Nasdaq: INDI), an Autotech solutions innovator, and SiLC Technologies, Inc (SiLC), a leader in silicon photonics innovation, have entered into a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) partnership that enables coherent detection-based LiDAR platforms for next-generation sensing applications, including driver assistance, autonomous mobility, robotics and industrial automation. This partnership will deliver fully integrated vision system platforms deploying frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) detection, redefining benchmarks for rapidly emerging LiDAR applications.
FMCW-based LiDAR delivers multiple real-world benefits compared to direct detection-based Time of Flight (TOF) solutions, including long-range with high precision, interference immunity, per-point instantaneous velocity and motion measurement. This ground-breaking partnership combines award-winning products from indie and SiLC into reference platforms that enable an order of magnitude improvement in sensing performance, manufacturability, power consumption, form factor and cost relative to competing systems.
“indie is excited to partner with SiLC to bring the processing innovation from Surya to FMCW LiDAR, offering a breakthrough reference design,” said Chet Babla, senior vice president, strategic marketing at indie Semiconductor. “By combining the software-defined high-performance – but low power – analog and digital processing and system control capabilities of Surya™, coupled with SiLC’s Eyeonic™ vision solution, system integrators and OEMs are enabled with 4D FMCW imaging for mass market deployment into multiple applications.”
Ralf Muenster, vice president, business development and marketing at SiLC added, “We are excited to partner with indie to bring industry-leading FMCW-based LiDAR platforms to market. Our state-of-the-art FMCW LiDAR sensor features the highest integration, resolution, precision, and longest range of any other competing approach, while remaining the only commercially available solution to offer polarization information.”
Driven by strong market demand, reference platforms featuring Surya™ and Eyeonic™ have already been deployed and are being evaluated by select lead automotive, tier one and industrial OEMs, and both indie and SiLC are actively developing new reference platforms to showcase the scalability and flexibility of their combined technologies.
About indie
indie is empowering the Autotech revolution with next generation automotive semiconductors and software platforms. We focus on developing innovative, high-performance and energy-efficient technology for ADAS, user experience and electrification applications. Our mixed-signal SoCs enable edge sensors spanning Radar, LiDAR, Ultrasound, and Computer Vision, while our embedded system control, power management and interfacing solutions transform the in-cabin experience and accelerate increasingly automated and electrified vehicles. We are an approved vendor to Tier 1 partners and our solutions can be found in marquee automotive OEMs worldwide. Headquartered in Aliso Viejo, CA, indie has design centers and regional support offices across the United States, Canada, Argentina, Scotland, England, Germany, Hungary, Morocco, Israel, Japan, South Korea and China.
About SiLC Technologies
On a mission to enable machines to see like humans, SiLC Technologies is bringing forth its deep expertise in silicon photonics to advance market deployment of FMCW LiDAR solutions. The company’s breakthrough 4D+ Eyeonic Chip integrates all photonics functions needed to enable a coherent vision sensor, offering a tiny footprint while addressing the need for low cost and low power. SiLC’s innovations are targeted to robotics, autonomous vehicles, biometrics, security, industrial automation, and other leading markets.
SiLC was founded in 2018 by silicon photonics industry veterans with decades of commercial product development and manufacturing experience. SiLC’s 4D LiDAR chip has been recognized by Frost & Sullivan as ideally positioned to disrupt the global LiDAR market and the company has been named a Cool Vendor in Silicon Photonics by Gartner. Investors in SiLC include Dell Technology Capital, Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, FLUXUNIT – ams OSRAM Ventures, UMC Capital, Alter Ventures and Epson.
Safe Harbor Statement
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” (including within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) concerning indie Semiconductor such as the features, functionality, performance, availability, timing and expected benefits of indie Semiconductor products and technology, including products developed in partnership with SiLC Technologies including LiDAR products. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future business and financial performance and prospects, and other statements identified by words such as “will likely result,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “outlook,” “should,” “could,” “may” or words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond our control. Actual results and the timing of events may differ materially from the results included in such forward-looking statements. In addition to the factors previously disclosed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 28, 2023 and in our other public reports filed with the SEC (including those identified under “Risk Factors” therein), the following factors, among others, could cause actual results and the timing of events to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; our reliance on contract manufacturing and outsourced supply chain and the availability of semiconductors and manufacturing capacity; competitive products and pricing pressures; our ability to win competitive bid selection processes and achieve additional design wins; the impact of any acquisitions we have made or may make, including our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and risks that the anticipated benefits of any acquisitions may not be fully realized or take longer to realize than expected; our ability to develop, market and gain acceptance for new and enhanced products and expand into new technologies and markets; trade restrictions and trade tensions; our ability to build, staff and integrate new design, testing, sales and marketing facilities throughout the world; and political and economic instability in our target markets. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.
Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements in this press release, which information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof. We do not undertake, and we expressly disclaim, any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this announcement or in our other public filings, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
