Omnitron Sensors Unlocks $6.3B LiDAR Market for Autonomous Navigation in Cars and Robotics

Secures foundry partner, forms keystone partnerships, builds proof-of-concept — all on only $11M in venture capital to date

LOS ANGELES — December 14, 2023 — The market for light detection and ranging (LiDAR) subsystems is surging toward $6.3B by 2027[1], in part driven by the automotive industry’s thirst for a precise optical technology that provides real-time 3D vision in all weather and lighting conditions. Omnitron Sensors, a semiconductor startup co-founded by a team with roots at Tesla and Google, today announced a series of milestone achievements in targeting this massive market with the first microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) step-scanning mirror that meets the rigors of LiDAR in automotive advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), robotic cars and aerial drones.

Fueled by its lead investor L’ATTITUDE Ventures, an investor in early-stage US Latina(o)-owned startups with high-growth potential, Omnitron has raised a total of $11M in venture capital since its founding in 2019.

Oscar Munoz, former CEO and chairman of United Airlines and a general partner at L’ATTITUDE Ventures, cited the unique attributes of Omnitron Sensors Co-founder & CEO Eric Aguilar in expanding his firm’s investment in the company.

“Eric’s technical experience in developing sensors, combined with his leadership experience in building autonomous systems for companies such as Tesla — where he led a team of 300 engineers building the firmware for Model 3 — and X, where he helped to develop the autonomous-delivery drone service, Google project Wing, make Omnitron a company to watch,” said Munoz.

In late Q3 2023, Omnitron revealed Silex Microsystems — the world’s largest pure-play MEMS foundry — as its foundry partner, signifying market-readiness to deliver the first MEMS scanner that meets the accuracy, reliability, size, cost and volume requirements of LiDAR in diverse applications. See press release: Omnitron Sensors Selects Silex Microsystems for Reliable MEMS Scanner for LiDAR (September 12, 2023).

Omnitron has also forged partnerships with key players in the LiDAR ecosystem — established suppliers that are eager to use Omnitron’s MEMS mirror in their systems.

“As the first MEMS mirror that aligns to a LiDAR system’s sub-micron-level tolerances without constant recalibration — and which is priced for cars instead of billion-dollar satellites — Omnitron’s sensor has attracted the attention of tier 1 automotive suppliers,” said Aguilar. “With the capital in hand to manufacture our MEMS mirror and with Silex as our proven high-volume foundry partner, we’ve cleared the way to satisfy future demand from LiDAR suppliers.”

As a tech entrepreneur increasingly recognized on the global stage, Aguilar presented at two prestigious innovation conferences during the past year. He engaged with an international community of business leaders at the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce (BCC) and the ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) conference in Bogotá, Colombia on March 1, 2023. On November 2, 2023, he addressed an audience of innovators from global corporations and fast-growth businesses at Dubai Business Forum 2023 in Dubai, UAE.

About Omnitron Sensors

Founded in 2019 by a core group of MEMS industry innovators, Omnitron Sensors has invented a new topology for MEMS — IP that improves device performance and reliability, and that streamlines assembly to produce MEMS sensors for price-sensitive, high-volume markets, such as ADAS, drones, robotics, smartphones, and other intelligent connected electronics that are part of our daily lives. For more information, email info@omnitronsensors.com or visit https://omnitronsensors.com/contact-us/.

The Omnitron Sensors logo is a registered trademark of Omnitron Sensors. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Contacts

Eric Aguilar, Omnitron Sensors

Email: eric[at]omnitronsensors.com

Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications

Email: maria[at]vetrano.com


[1] Source: Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group (2022). LiDAR 2022 – Focus on Automotive and Industrial.

Omnitron Sensors Selects Silex Microsystems for Reliable MEMS Scanner for LiDAR

MEMS IP company works with premier MEMS foundry to commercialize first product

LOS ANGELES—September 12, 2023 — Omnitron Sensors, the pioneer in MEMS sensing technology for high-volume, low-cost markets, today announced that it will work with Silex Microsystems on the manufacture of its microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) scanner for LiDAR.

“We’re seeing massive demand for low-cost and reliable LiDAR from manufacturers of automotive ADAS, drones and other robotic systems,´ said Eric Aguilar, co-founder and CEO, Omnitron Sensors. “Our selection of Silex Microsystems—the world’s largest pure-play MEMS foundry—signifies our market-readiness to deliver the first MEMS scanner that meets the accuracy, reliability, size, cost and volume requirements of LiDAR in diverse applications.” 

Solving MEMS manufacturing challenges

Manufacturing MEMS devices is notoriously difficult. Problems with size, reliability, durability and repeatability—and the fact that process technology is unique for each new MEMS device—make MEMS manufacturing expensive and slow design-to-delivery cycles. Omnitron’s core IP solves these challenges. As a new topology for MEMS, Omnitron’s IP rearranges manufacturing processes and supports them with new packaging techniques. This speeds volume production of a wide range of small, low-cost, precise MEMS sensors—from scanning mirrors and inertial measurement units (IMUs) to microphones, pressure sensors, and telecom switches. 

“Omnitron’s new topology for MEMS—which features the clever rearrangement of silicon process steps and a new packaging method—is a major step forward for the microelectronics industry because it mitigates the manufacturing complexity that has limited the growth of MEMS to date,” said Aguilar. “By leveraging the standard tools and processes already found in the Silex fab, Omnitron clears the way for robust, reliable and affordable MEMS devices that are delivered to market quickly and at high volume.”

For more information

To learn more about Omnitron Sensors, please contact us by email: info@omnitronsensors.com or via the Omnitron website.

About Omnitron Sensors

Founded in 2019 by a core group of MEMS industry innovators, Omnitron Sensors has invented a new topology for MEMS—IP that improves device performance and reliability, and that streamlines assembly to produce MEMS sensors for price-sensitive, high-volume markets. Learn more at https://omnitronsensors.com

The Omnitron Sensors logo is a registered trademark of Omnitron Sensors. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Contacts

Eric Aguilar, Omnitron Sensors
Email: eric[at]omnitronsensors.com

Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications
Email: maria[at]vetrano.com

Omnitron Sensors Selects Silex Microsystems for Reliable MEMS Scanner for LiDAR

MEMS IP company works with premier MEMS foundry to commercialize first product

LOS ANGELES—September 7, 2023 — Omnitron Sensors, the pioneer in MEMS sensing technology for high-volume, low-cost markets, today announced that it will work with Silex Microsystems on the manufacture of its microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) scanner for LiDAR.

“We’re seeing massive demand for low-cost and reliable LiDAR from manufacturers of automotive ADAS, drones and other robotic systems,´ said Eric Aguilar, co-founder and CEO, Omnitron Sensors. “Our selection of Silex Microsystems—which is the world’s largest pure-play MEMS foundry—signifies our market-readiness to deliver the first MEMS scanner that meets the accuracy, reliability, size, cost and volume requirements of LiDAR in diverse applications.”

Solving MEMS manufacturing challenges

Manufacturing MEMS devices is notoriously difficult. Problems with size, reliability, durability and repeatability—and the fact that process technology is unique for each new MEMS device—make MEMS manufacturing expensive and slow design-to-delivery cycles. Omnitron’s core IP solves these challenges. As a new topology for MEMS, Omnitron’s IP rearranges manufacturing processes and supports them with new packaging techniques. This speeds volume production of a wide range of small, low-cost, precise MEMS sensors—from scanning mirrors and inertial measurement units (IMUs) to microphones, pressure sensors, and telecom switches.

“Omnitron’s new topology for MEMS—which features the clever rearrangement of silicon process steps and a new packaging method—is a major step forward for the microelectronics industry because it mitigates the manufacturing complexity that has limited the growth of MEMS to date,” said Aguilar. “By leveraging the standard tools and processes already found in the Silex fab, Omnitron clears the way for robust, reliable and affordable MEMS devices that are delivered to market quickly and at high volume.

For more information

To learn more about Omnitron Sensors, please contact us by email: info@omnitronsensors.com or via the Omnitron website.

About Omnitron Sensors

Founded in 2019 by a core group of MEMS industry innovators, Omnitron Sensors has invented a new topology for MEMS—IP that improves device performance and reliability, and that streamlines assembly to produce MEMS sensors for price-sensitive, high-volume markets. Learn more at https://omnitronsensors.com.

The Omnitron Sensors logo is a registered trademark of Omnitron Sensors. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Contacts

Eric Aguilar, Omnitron Sensors

Email: eric[at]omnitronsensors.com

Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications

Email: maria[at]vetrano.com

Omnitron Sensors Solves Reliability, Size, Cost Issues with LiDARs

New process for MEMS scanning mirror produces large field of view, speeds mass production

LOS ANGELES—November 30, 2022 — Omnitron Sensors, the pioneer in MEMS sensing technology for high-volume, low-cost markets, today validated its process for a fast, rugged, low-cost microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) scanning mirror, a new optical subsystem that meets the most demanding requirements of the LiDARs used in automotive advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), drones and robotics.

Targeting a LiDAR subsystems market predicted by Yole Intelligence, part of Yole Group, to reach $2B by 2027[i], Omnitron’s MEMS mirror will produce a 2-3X larger field of view than other MEMS mirrors used in long-range LiDARs. As a step-scanning mirror, Omnitron’s device is designed for rugged high-vibration automotive and aerial environments—a competitive advantage over the spinning mirrors offered by other vendors. In addition, Omnitron’s MEMS mirror is built to outperform older optical subsystems, including voice coils, spinning polygons, and Galvos—all of which are slower, bulkier, 10x-100x more expensive, and prone to failure.

“Our executive team has spent decades in sensor design, working on projects at Google (X) Wing avionics, Google Quantum, Tesla Model 3, US Navy Research Labs, and Lumedyne—which Google acquired during my tenure,” said Eric Aguilar, co-founder and CEO, Omnitron Sensors. “With so much untapped potential in MEMS sensors still before us, we saw how changing the process technology and packaging techniques—which we call a new topology for MEMS—produces measurable improvements in size, cost, robustness, reliability, manufacturability and time to market. Our MEMS scanning mirror for LiDARs proves out our IP, solving the most serious issues that plague today’s LiDARs for autonomous navigation. And based on the positive market reception we have received, we’re meeting a vital need for long-lasting, high-performing, rugged and cost-effective LiDAR platforms.”

With its MEMS process verified through fabrication, Omnitron Sensors is gaining the attention of investors. In Q4 2021, L’ATTITUDE Ventures invested $1.6M in seed-round funding to Omnitron and named the company L’ATTITUDE Latino Startup of the Year.

“I’ve spent 20 years in the wireless chip and sensors space, so I recognize an impressive technology when I see it,” said Sol Trujillo, general partner of L’ATTITUDE Ventures, an investment firm noted for its steadfast support of talented Latino/Latina entrepreneurs. “Omnitron’s starting point—the delivery of a step-scanning mirror with the potential to transform LiDARs for autonomous cars, drones, and mobile devices—is definitely impressive.

“Shaped by Eric Aguilar’s vision and technical acumen, Omnitron’s foundational IP in MEMS also has the potential to become a key enabler of robust and reliable smart-everything devices. These varied attributes illustrate why L’ATTITUDE believes in Omnitron’s growth potential.”

Solving MEMS manufacturing challenges

Manufacturing MEMS devices is notoriously difficult. Problems with size, reliability, durability and repeatability—and the fact that process technology is unique for each new MEMS device—make MEMS manufacturing expensive and slows design-to-delivery cycles. Omnitron’s core IP solves these challenges. As a new topology for MEMS, Omnitron’s IP rearranges manufacturing processes and supports them with new packaging techniques. This speeds volume production of a wide range of small, low-cost, precise MEMS sensors—from scanning mirrors and inertial measurement units (IMUs) to microphones, pressure sensors, and telecom switches—through established MEMS foundries.

For more information

To learn more about Omnitron’s new MEMS scanning mirror for LiDARs—as well as its new topology for MEMS, which solves the fundamental manufacturing challenges that have hindered the rapid mass-production of MEMS sensors—please contact us by email: info@omnitronsensors.com.

About L’ATTITUDE Ventures

L’ATTITUDE Ventures invests in early-stage (Seed to Series A) U.S. Latina(o) entrepreneurs who leverage technology to scale. The General Partners are Sol Trujillo, Oscar Munoz, Gary Acosta, Kennie Blanco, and Laura Moreno Lucas. Learn more at https://lat.vc/.

About Omnitron Sensors

Founded in 2019 by a core group of MEMS industry innovators, Omnitron Sensors has invented a new topology for MEMS—IP that improves device performance and reliability, and that streamlines assembly to produce MEMS sensors for price-sensitive, high-volume markets, such as ADAS, drones, robotics, smartphones, internet of things (IoT), and other intelligent connected electronics that are shipping by the hundreds of millions. Learn more at https://omnitronsensors.com.

The Omnitron Sensors logo is a registered trademark of Omnitron Sensors. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Press Contacts

Eric Aguilar, Omnitron Sensors

Email: eric[at]omnitronsensors.com

Maria Vetrano, Vetrano Communications

Email: maria[at]vetrano.com


[i] Source: ADAS Applications: LiDAR 2022 – Focus on Automotive and Industrial report, Yole Intelligence