Lidar-maker Ouster buys vision firm StereoLabs as sensor integration continues

Lidar-maker Ouster is found StereoLabs, a company that develops vision systems for robotics and industry, combined for $35 million and 1.8 million shares.

The deal is the latest in a move toward consolidation among sensor manufacturers. Last month, MicroVision bought the lidar assets of buzzy-but-now-bankrupt Luminar. for $33 million. Ouster himself has played the M&A game to a fair degree, too. In 2022, the company merged with fellow player Velodyne. A year ago, that purchased lidar startup Sense Photonics.

This combination is best done when companies are investors rush to build businesses around “physical AI” – a broad term that includes everything from humanoid robots and drones to self-driving cars and automated storage systems. The most unknown contributors are to collect large sums of money as these technologies develop. Some founders try spinning new sensor methods.

Ouster cofounder and CEO Angus Pacala told TechCrunch in an interview that he’s been eyeing StereoLabs for years. He said he sees lidar as a “critical and reliable security tool,” but wants to “upgrade.”

The first “obvious accessories” to work with in addition to lidar, Pacala said, are cameras. Pacala said the 15-year-old StereoLabs is “best in class” on the hardware side, but he was most impressed with how the company has leveraged the cameras by being “very smart in terms of AI models and edge calculations.”

In particular, Pacala highlighted StereoLabs’ development of a basic AI model that can determine the depth of objects from stereo cameras.

“It was a no-brainer to reach out to them and put this vision to work with us to become a platform for communication and awareness – one part (provider) of the advanced AI systems,” Pacala said.

Despite their focus on integration, Ouster said StereoLabs will operate as a limited company.

And despite the hype, Pacala said he didn’t buy StereoLabs because of the interest and money being thrown at physical AI. Instead, they committed perhaps the worst sin one can commit during the hype: they poured cold water on the buzz, especially around humanoid robotics.

“Businesses here are not just selling interest, they are creating operating systems that are legal, safe, that are really solving customer problems,” he said. “There’s been a bit of disappointment in physical AI because it’s clear that there’s a long way to go to sell all these humanoids.”

Pacala is not the only one trying to get the right attitude. In an interview with TechCrunch, MicroVision CEO Glen DeVos said the sensor industry is “ready to merge” because he believes there isn’t enough money to support the existing competition.

“You’re going to get leverage, or you’re going to get straws from the industry as people fall by the wayside,” he said.