Google Exec Jumps To Lead Lidar Startup And Hires Competitors

Shauna McIntyre has had quite a spring so far. In April she jumped ship from leading Google
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’s automotive services program to North Carolina-based tech startup Sense Photonics as its new CEO, then she proceeded to attract talent from the company’s competitors, jumped into a round of fundraising and, one day, may even convert noted LiDAR disbeliever, Tesla
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boss Elon Musk, into a lover. All that, in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a telephone interview McIntyre admitted, the timing is “curious” but “I was driven by the fact that I believe the world needs to move towards autonomy at a faster rate than it is for safety reasons, for cost reasons, productivity reasons and it’s being held back by need for viable technology.”

A phrase she likes to repeat is “hardware is the gateway.” It’s the combination of Sense’s hardware and software that’s challenged the notion of the stereotypical big rotating unit on the top of autonomous vehicles when one thinks about LiDAR- the laser radar sensing system most automakers install on their autonomous vehicles. 

Sense’s system, called Flash LiDAR, is solid state and has no moving parts or spinning coffee can-like devices atop a vehicle. The laser emitter and detector are separate, small units that can be embedded into a vehicle’s design. For instance, the emitter can be hidden behind a headlight and the detector behind the windshield. 

The company also promotes Flash LiDAR as being able to provide a richer, more accurate information guiding a robocar based on how it gathers that information, in part, by using 3D rather than 2D cameras. 

There are two versions of Flash LiDAR. The Sense Osprey system is designed for automotive applications and the Sense One version is for industrial uses such as robotics and material handling.

Referring to a video showing detail the Sense system captured of San Francisco’s winding Lombard Street, McIntyre enthuses, “Its visuals and data ingested into the vehicle are going to give people confidence in their autonomous vehicles. When they see this level of specificity it will give the world confidence to start in believing in autonomous vehicles.” 

Good enough to change Musk’s mind about LiDAR? McIntyre is coy about whether or not she’s had his ear, but offers, “If I’m Elon Musk and I’ve only been exposed to what’s been out in the industry, I might have come to that conclusion. But now, having been exposed to Sense Photonics, I think it’s worth taking another look.” 

If Musk is looking, he would be one of many. The company is in the midst of a Series B round of fundraising. It’s $26 million Series A round last year was co-led by Acadia Woods and Congruent Ventures, with participation from a number of other investors, including Prelude Ventures, Samsung Ventures and Shell Ventures. McIntyre doesn’t want to reveal this year’s goal for fear of limiting the yield…but it’s higher. 

Aside from fattening Sense’s coffers, she quickly set out to bolster the company’s bench, winning an impressive roster of defections from key competitors:

Aravind Ratnam, SVP Product, previously with Aeye

Andrew Nelson, VP BD & Sales, previously with Velodyne

Mrinal Sood, Director of Technical Sales & Marketing, previously with Innoviz

“I think we’re well positioned in the market, we managed our growth very well and we didn’t get too big too quickly so that’s serving us well now to be able to recruit some really outstanding talent,” McIntyre said in explaining how she managed to win over such high-powered competitors. Indeed, her search for talent isn’t nearly complete. 

She also has an eye on reports Amazon
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may be in talks to buy robocar startup Zoox, calling such a move, “great for the industry” and something she says she predicted before she arrived at Sense. “I think of Amazon’s breadth and ability to bring new technology to the market and scale it successfully,” she explained. “They have an incredible ability to be very assertive in entering new markets.” 

Entering new markets is a goal McIntyre is very much focused on for Sense Photonics, believing the company’s compact, high-featured version of LiDAR contains the clearest vision yet for autonomous acceptance.