Anello Photonics, a start-up based in Santa Clara, California, announced $28 million in Series A funding for its Silicon Photonic Optical Gyroscope (SiPhOG) sensor technology.
Anello says its novel SiPhOG replaces the discrete optical components of a traditional Fiber Optic Gyroscope (FOG) and combines high precision with greatly reduced size, weight, power and cost. The technology combines an Anello-developed on-chip waveguide manufacturing process integrated with a patented silicon photonic chip-scale gyroscope.
Applications for the SiPhOG sensor technology could include automotive, trucking, construction, drone, aerospace, defense and consumer electronics.
The Series A funding was led by New Legacy Ventures and included investments from Lockheed Martin Ventures, Catapult Ventures, JS Capital, Hardware Club, and individual investments from several Silicon Valley luminaries.
"With the development of the SiPhOG we are going to change the Navigation industry," says Mario Paniccia, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Anello. "We are bringing all the benefits of optical gyro performance onto an integrated silicon photonic circuit platform."
"By providing an independent and accurate ground truth of vehicle position, Anello's sensor and IMU system improves the reliability of Autonomous Vehicle localization while reducing the vulnerability to cyber-security threats and environmental interference common to other localization sensors," says Mike Horton, Chief Strategy Officer and co-founder of Anello.
