Naver bets big on Israeli autonomous vehicle player

By Lee Min-hyung

Naver has joined with a group of leading auto parts makers to create a $65 million (73.2 billion won) fund for an Israeli startup that manufactures sensors for autonomous vehicles, the internet company said Friday.

The partnership with Innoviz Technologies will serve as a building block for Naver to raise its global profile as a driverless vehicle industry player, the Korean company said.

The nation’s top portal operator did not reveal its stake in the fund, citing contract terms. Other investors include Delphi Automotive and Magma International.

Innoviz is renowned for developing the light detection and ranging (LIDAR) sensor that is often cited as the eyes of self-driving vehicles.

The LIDAR sensor comes with one noteworthy difference from conventional radars, Naver said. By using a powerfully pulsed laser light, LIDAR can measure distances of neighboring objects in much more detail than other sensors.

Engineers from Israel’s defense ministry established the company in 2016, focusing on developing deep learning-driven algorithms for autonomous vehicles.

Innoviz Technologies plans to launch InnovizPro LiDAR in the first quarter next year and supply the sensor to major carmakers here and abroad.

“The latest partnership will help us enhance the competitiveness of our ongoing cognitive research for autonomous vehicles,” a Naver official said.

“Other benefits the strategic alliance will bring include potential synergy with Naver Labs Europe’s AI research facility in France.”

In February, Naver was the nation’s first IT firm to win a license for autonomous vehicle road tests.

This came as part of the company’s efforts to find its next revenue generator after a group of leading IT titans — such as Google and Samsung Electronics — tapped into the autonomous vehicle industry.

According to Strategy Analytics, the global LIDAR market will grow to 3.69 trillion won in 2021, with an annual growth rate of 61 percent. This is because more tech companies are jumping on the auto parts bandwagon.

Samsung Electronics acquired Harman International last year for 8 trillion won, seeking to tap deeper into the connected car industry.

“The world’s leading carmakers and IT players are joining forces to secure key technologies to embrace the autonomous vehicle era,” Naver chief technology officer Song Chang-hyun said.

“Naver will continue to enhance research on ways to combine its deep learning-based technologies into cars. Toward that end, we are going to further expand our partnerships with tech players in the self-driving car industry.”