Ford Invests in Laser Sensor Maker Velodyne

Ford Motor Co. is investing $75 million in Velodyne LIDAR Inc., a California-based maker of laser sensors used by self-driving vehicles to map their surroundings.

Chinese internet giant Baidu Inc. also is investing $75 million in the 13-year-old company. Velodyne says it will use the funds to boost production and cut costs for its most advanced LIDAR (light-detection and ranging) devices.

Ford has been using Velodyne’s sensors in its autonomous vehicle research vehicles for about 10 years. It employs the company’s third-generation “PUCK” system to create real-time 3-D modeling of the environment surrounding its test fleet of Fusion Hybrid self-driving vehicles.

Velodyne says it is working on more than two dozen autonomous vehicle projects. The company predicts annual sales of lidar sensors could reach 200 million-300 million units.