Digital beamforming with LCM technology delivers the performance of a lidar sensor without any of the problems of mechanical systems, claims Lumotive. Credit: Lumotive
Lumotive, a developer of programmable optical semiconductors, yesterday announced global expansion and leadership hires to meet surging demand for its Light Control Metasurfaces, or LCM, platform across robotics, industrial automation, and smart-infrastructure markets.
Following its oversubscribed $59 million Series B funding, the Redmond, Wash.-based company is accelerating the commercialization of its LCM system by expanding its global operational and customer-support capabilities. It has opened a center of excellence in Muscat, Oman, and expanded its office in Taiwan.
“These milestones mark a pivotal moment for Lumotive as we move from innovation to large-scale commercialization,” said Dr. Sam Heidari, CEO of Lumotive. “Expanding globally and strengthening our leadership enables us to deliver programmable-optics technology at scale — powering the next generation of intelligent machines.”
New leaders have industry experience
Lumotive has also appointed two senior industry leaders to support its global growth. Tristan Joo, executive vice president of global business, brings over two decades of experience in optical semiconductors and commercialization, gained from senior roles at ams OSRAM, Ofilm, and Polight.
Dr. Hassan Moussa, vice president of customer engineering and general manager of Lumotive Oman, previously led Valeo’s lidar program and has more than 20 years of experience in automotive sensing and Tier 1 system integration.
“The need for advanced 3D sensing spans every geography and industry, and Lumotive’s LCM platform is enabling customers to move from prototype to production,” said Joo. “Our new offices and partnerships give Lumotive the reach, capital, and scalability to lead this next phase of global adoption — from robotics and automation to automotive and smart infrastructure.”
Lumotive readies the next wave of solid-state lidar
Lumotive said its growth mirrors the surge in demand for high-performance perception across warehouse robotics, smart infrastructure, robotaxis, and autonomous heavy equipment in agriculture and construction.
The company asserted that its LCM platform replaces mechanical beam steering with a fully solid-state semiconductor approach — enabling smaller, more intelligent, and more reliable 3D sensors for both indoor and outdoor environments. The technology could power a new generation of lidar systems — compact, software-defined, and high-performance solutions for autonomy, robotics, and smart infrastructure, Lumotive said.
“LCMs are redefining how 3D sensors are built,” stated Moussa. “By extending range and resolution for iTOF [indirect time-of-flight] systems and simplifying dTOF [direct time-of-flight] sensor architectures, Lumotive makes high-precision perception more accessible and scalable.”
“Our software-defined ROI control allows AI systems to self-optimize their vision — shifting 3D sensing from niche lidar systems to a broader ecosystem where anyone can build it, just like cameras,” he added.
Distributor network expands
Lumotive cited recent achievements including the expansion of its distributor network through Restar in Japan, Uniquest in South Korea, EDOM in Taiwan, and Macnica Cytech in China. The company has also expanded its partner ecosystem with Sony, ADAPS, SolidVUE, Lattice Semiconductors, ams OSRAM, and Seoul Robotics.
It said these partnerships ensure seamless integration of LCM technology with key components across lidar systems.
Lumotive has also scaled and diversified its manufacturing ecosystem to ensure volume readiness through leading CMOS (complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) and advanced packaging partners, enabling reliable, high-volume supply for customers worldwide.
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