Blickfeld receives 15 million euros

The company's technology is intended to facilitate autonomous driving, among other things. The money comes from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is investing 15 million euros in the Munich-based start-up Blickfeld. This is a manufacturer of hardware and software for so-called "Lidar" solutions. This stands for Light Detection and Ranging and is a method for detecting the environment. Lidar sensors generate three-dimensional information about the shape and surface properties of surrounding objects. In future, the technology will be used primarily for autonomous driving and in industry.

Blickfeld intends to use the additional capital to drive forward the development of lidar solutions, including for autonomous driving, and to become more successful in key international markets, such as the USA and Asian countries. "The capital provided by the EIB is the ideal financing instrument for us to expand even faster," hopes founder and CEO Mathias Müller.

The financing is part of the EIB's Venture Debt Program. The financing is backed by a guarantee from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), also known as the "Juncker Plan". "Innovation and sustainability are two of the key criteria we apply when deciding to finance companies and projects," says EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni. "Blickfeld's 3D lidar solutions create completely new areas of application, be it in autonomous driving and smart mobility, in the construction industry or in agriculture. This not only gives companies an advantage in the market, but also makes the supply chain as a whole more efficient and sustainable."

The aforementioned lidar technology is already being used to record vehicle and pedestrian flows in retail spaces and public places. It is also used to optimize traffic flow, in urban planning and to reduce false alarms in building and security systems. It is also intended to facilitate the measurement of materials that are difficult to quantify, such as sugar beet, fertilizer or recycling materials.