Baraja, the creator of Spectrum-Scan lidar technology, has appointed technology industry veteran Craig Barratt, PhD, to its board of directors, as the company expands commercial partnerships and deployments globally.
Barratt has decades of experience in pioneering wireless and networking technologies, helping to make wi-fi and internet connectivity more accessible and ubiquitous across the world. From 2013 to 2017 he held senior executive positions at Google, where he managed several initiatives including Google Fiber. He also led the growth of wireless connectivity innovator Atheros through its IPO in 2004 and acquisition by Qualcomm in 2011, and oversaw Barefoot Networks through to acquisition by Intel in 2019.
“Over the past 20 years, Craig has been at the forefront of, and a major contributor to, some of the biggest leaps forward in wireless and networking technologies,” said Federico Collarte, co-founder and CEO of Baraja. “He is joining the Baraja board at a key moment in our journey, as the automotive industry looks for better lidar technology such as our breakthrough Spectrum-Scan products. We’re extremely excited to have Craig join the team and help advise us on the next stage in our journey.”
Baraja’s Spectrum-Scan technology was invented by Collarte and co-founder Cibby Pulikkaseril, telecommunications industry veterans who used their photonics expertise to create a lidar system capable of creating high-resolution, long-range point clouds without the shortcomings or mechanical components that hold back traditional systems.
“Baraja is the rare type of company that’s managed to create a simple solution to a complex problem,” said Barratt. “They have solved many of the fundamental problems other lidar companies have spent years trying to overcome, which makes their technology a better fit for autonomous vehicles in all settings. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve together.”
The company claims that the appointment further validates the relevance of Baraja’s breakthrough lidar technology for modern autonomous vehicles. Baraja recently signed a strategic partnership agreement with Taiwan’s renowned Industrial Technology Research Institute’s (ITRI) intelligent mobility division to help develop autonomous vehicle technologies for logistics and delivery settings, such as long-haul trucks and last-mile delivery vehicles.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Baraja has over 100 employees across offices in San Francisco, Europe and Shanghai.