What Pointcloud does

Pointcloud GmbH is a Swiss-headquartered semiconductor company, founded in 2017, that designs and manufactures silicon-photonics-based 4D imaging (spatial 3D plus radial velocity) sensor chipsets. Its core technology is a Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) Focal Plane Array sensor that combines coherent ranging with focal plane array architecture on a single-chip optoelectronic platform containing over one million photonic components co-integrated with electronics. Solid-state beam steering eliminates mechanical parts, and chipsets are available in QVGA-class configurations of 192x64 and 352x176 pixels with up to 128 parallel output channels and an SPI control interface. The company is incorporated as Pointcloud GmbH with headquarters at Stampfenbachstrasse 85, Zurich, Switzerland, and operates additional offices in San Francisco, United States, and Southampton, United Kingdom, the latter in collaboration with the University of Southampton.

Pointcloud sells FPA LiDAR chipsets and development kits (including the Development Kit with FPGA signal processing supporting up to 48 channels and a 1310nm DFB laser transmitter, and the Gen1 FPA Evaluation Kit) directly to system developers via a contact-based sales process at [email protected]. Target applications span autonomous mobility (humanoid robots navigating homes, autonomous road systems), robotics, drones, augmented reality, consumer electronics and smartphones, and space-based observation. The company has published its underlying technology in Nature, APL Photonics, and SPIE, and reports a multidisciplinary engineering team spanning optoelectronics, mixed signal, digital design, and signal processing, led by CEO and co-founder Remus Nicolaescu. Partnerships include Baidu Ventures and Propel(X) as financial backers, the ANSYS Startup Program for simulation tooling, and the University of Southampton as an academic co-development partner.

Name

Pointcloud

Legal name

Pointcloud GmbH

Website

https://point.cloud

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pointcloud GmbH designs and manufactures silicon-photonics-based 4D imaging (3D + radial velocity) sensor chipsets using FMCW LiDAR technology for autonomous mobility, robotics, augmented reality, and consumer electronics applications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

LiDAR Sensors and 3D Imaging Hardware

NAICS

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing (334511), Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing (3345)

SIC

Search, Detection, Navagation, Guidance, Aeronautical Sys (3812), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

LiDAR & 3D Sensing Modules (HDAHALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

3D Vision, Depth Sensing & Point Cloud Analytics (HDAAAEAK), Machine Vision & Optical Sensing (Cameras, 3D vision, LiDAR, illumination) (IMAGAFAB), Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM)

Keywords

• FMCW LiDAR sensors
• 4D imaging chipsets
• Silicon photonics LiDAR
• Focal plane arrays
• Solid-state depth sensing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. FPA LiDAR Chipsets: Sale of silicon-based 4D imaging sensor chipsets in various pixel configurations (QVGA class, 192x64 and 352x176 pixels) designed for integration into customer products for autonomous mobility, robotics, and AR applications.
2. Development Kits: Evaluation and development kits containing FPA chipset on carrier board, FPGA signal processing components, and external transmitter based on 1310nm DFB laser for system development and evaluation purposes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Pointcloud designs and sells silicon-based FMCW Focal Plane Array LiDAR sensor chipsets that perform 4D imaging—capturing 3D spatial depth plus per-point radial velocity—on a single solid-state chip. The company complements its chip offering with development kits and an FPA evaluation kit for system integrators and OEM customers evaluating the technology.

Product overview

Pointcloud offers a silicon-based 4D imaging sensor platform centered on FMCW LiDAR technology. The core product offering consists of FPA (Focal Plane Array) LiDAR Chipsets available in QVGA class configurations (192x64 and 352x176 pixels), which deliver simultaneous 3D spatial and radial velocity measurements. These are supported by the Development Kit (including chipset carrier board, FPGA signal processing for up to 48 channels, and 1310nm DFB laser transmitter) and the Gen1 FPA Evaluation Kit for initial testing and validation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• FPA LiDAR Chipsets Silicon-based FMCW Focal Plane Array LiDAR sensor chipsets that produce 4D imaging (3D depth + radial velocity) on a solid-state chip; sold to OEMs and system integrators building autonomous and machine-vision products.
• Development Kit Hardware and software development kit enabling customers to evaluate and prototype with Pointcloud's FPA LiDAR chipset in their own sensing systems.
• Gen1 FPA Evaluation Kit First-generation evaluation kit for prospective customers to assess Pointcloud's FMCW Focal Plane Array LiDAR performance in their target applications before committing to chipset integration.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• University of SouthamptoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with University of Southampton for research and development collaboration. Pointcloud has an office in Southampton, UK, and has published research with Southampton researchers including work on silicon photonic beam steering modules.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Aeva: Aeva develops FMCW LiDAR-on-chip sensors for automotive and industrial applications. It is the closest direct competitor to Pointcloud, sharing the same FMCW coherent ranging approach and chip-scale silicon photonics integration thesis.
• SiLC Technologies: SiLC builds silicon photonics-based FMCW LiDAR sensors for robotics, mobility, and industrial machine vision. Closely aligned with Pointcloud on coherent LiDAR, silicon photonics platform, and 4D (distance + velocity) imaging.
• Baraja: Baraja develops spectrum-scanned LiDAR sensors for autonomous vehicles using a non-mechanical steering approach. A direct peer to Pointcloud in long-range LiDAR targeting automotive OEMs and mobility applications.
• Innoviz Technologies: Innoviz is a solid-state LiDAR vendor with automotive series-production programs (BMW, VW). Competes with Pointcloud in the autonomous mobility sensing market with a comparable hardware-sales business model.

Broad incumbents

• Luminar Technologies: Luminar supplies long-range LiDAR sensors and software to automotive OEMs including Volvo and Mercedes-Benz. A well-capitalized incumbent in the same LiDAR-for-autonomous-mobility category as Pointcloud.
• Ouster: Ouster (which merged with Velodyne) is a broad LiDAR incumbent selling digital flash and mechanical LiDAR across automotive, robotics, and industrial mapping. An adjacent competitor with overlapping industrial and robotics customers.
• Hesai Group: Hesai is a high-volume automotive LiDAR manufacturer in China with major OEM design wins. Competes with Pointcloud in the autonomous mobility LiDAR market and operates at significantly greater scale and capital base.
• Mobileye: Mobileye (Intel) develops camera, radar, and LiDAR-based perception stacks for ADAS and autonomous vehicles. A broad incumbent whose ambitions in FMCW LiDAR (via Intel's silicon photonics heritage) overlap with Pointcloud's target market.
• Valeo: Valeo is a global Tier 1 automotive supplier with a series-production SCALA LiDAR used by Stellantis, Honda, and others. A broad incumbent competing in the automotive LiDAR segment Pointcloud targets.

Regional players

• RoboSense: RoboSense is a leading Chinese LiDAR supplier with automotive series production. A regional peer targeting the same autonomous mobility customers as Pointcloud but primarily from a China-centric go-to-market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pointcloud