Sensor software company Spartan has closed an initial series B round of US$17m led by 8VC alongside Microsoft, Prime Movers Lab, MaC VC, Gaingels, and others. Spartan will use the funding to bring its Ago product, which increases the performance of existing radars, to market.
The money will also be used to expand its product team and Commercial Vehicle Division in Detroit, Michigan. The move will enable Spartan to foster a closer relationship with its Tier 1 and OEM partners which are currently testing and validating the Ago software.
Spartan’s Ago was developed to improve the resolution and range of commercially available hardware. The dynamic sensing software optimizes the performance of existing radar sensors and can be integrated seamlessly into a company’s ECU, FPGA or central computer.
Advantages of the solution include refined sensor data before it reaches the perception stack, through easily validated and computationally efficient classical algorithms. Additional benefits include better automatic emergency braking performance, a reduction in false detections and the protection of vulnerable road users. The Ago software also evolves single-mode sensors into a multi-function sensing platform which is future-proofed with over-the-air updates.
“Fundraising during these difficult times proved our original thesis—building truly disruptive technology while being laser-focused on the market and our customers’ needs would win the day,” commented Nathan Mintz, co-founder and CEO, Spartan. “Investors responded to our early progress with our customers and provided the funding to transform the global radar market.”
