Former Tesla Engineers Launch Mapping Startup for Self-Driving Cars

Lvl5, a Redwood City, Calif.-based startup specializing in high-definition maps for autonomous vehicles, was formally launched Wednesday with initial funding of $2 million.

Co-founders Andrew Kouri and Erik Reed previously were engineers at Tesla Inc., where they worked on the internal mapping team for the carmaker’s semiautonomous Autopilot system. Lvl5, named after SAE International’s level 5 designation for fully autonomous vehicles, aims to have 100 employees by the end of 2018.

The startup is developing an algorithm that can convert two-dimensional camera data into three-dimensional maps, which the company says will help speed the launch and lower the cost of self-driving cars. Lv15 claims the technology will allow autonomous vehicles to precisely identify their location without the need for pricey lidar sensors.

The company, which has been collecting camera data to build the maps through truck drivers and ride-sharing services, says it has mapped 90% (500,000 miles) of the U.S. highways. Uber and Lyft drivers are paid as much as five cents per mile for providing map data, which they capture via windshield-mounted smartphone cameras and Lvl5’s Payver app that continually records and uploads images. More than 2,500 drivers have downloaded the app since January, Kouri says.

Tesla is using similar technology to build its own database, but thus far is limited to data collected by its Model S and Model X vehicles. TomTom, Here—a digital mapping joint venture owned by Audi, BMW and Daimler—and Google Inc.’s Waymo unit are creating high-definition maps by employing lidar and other advanced sensor systems, which Lvl5 says is more costly and time consuming.

Noting that an unnamed company currently is testing the technology, Lvl5 says it aims to work directly with carmakers in the future.