Arbe moves to production of 4D radar chipset
GlobalFoundries has completed chipset testing setup for mass production of the 4D automotive radar chipset developed by Arbe Robotics in Israel. The companies have shipped the first significant customer samples and signed a long-term manufacturing agreement.
Arbe has developed its own proprietary millimetre wave automotive grade radar RFIC chipset that includes a transmitter chip with 24 output channels and a receiver chip with 12 input channels and is built on a 22FDX FDSOI CMOS process.
Chinese Tier 1 ADAS supplier HiRain Technologies is developing OEM and autonomous driving projects with Imaging Radars based on Arbe’s chipset, with mass production by 2023.
Arbe also added two new customer engagements in Q2, including a truck OEM that is a leader in Level 2+ truck design, and a new mobility player focusing on Level 4 vehicles.
Other opportunities with Tier 1 suppliers would have volumes ranging from 400 thousand to 1 million systems per year. All of this means the company is on track to reach its $312m revenue goal for 2025, it says. Eight other projects could bring total potential revenues to $7.5bn by the end of the decade, it said.
“During the second quarter, we reached a major milestone with our strategic partner and chip manufacturer, GlobalFoundries, who completed the setup of the Arbe chipset testing facility, thus marking significant progress toward mass production,” said Kobi Marenko, Arbe’s Chief Executive Officer. “GlobalFoundries and Arbe signed a long-term strategic manufacturing agreement that addresses quality assurance, assembly and testing, which we believe will secure the quality and capacity necessary to meet our customer commitments.”
“As we enter the second half of 2022, we are shifting our focus to production and execution,” he said. “We believe that the launch of our new product, Lynx Surround Imaging Radar, represents a tremendous business opportunity for Arbe as well as for our Tier 1 strategic partners. In addition, the HiRain Technologies production timeline announcement, coupled with the progress achieved by all Arbe Tier 1s, is providing Arbe with a strong position ahead of all other industry players.”
Lynx is a ‘Surround Imaging Radar’ for 360° long-range, high-resolution sensing and is designed for multiple installations around the vehicle as a corner and a back radar for L2+ and higher autonomous vehicles, and even as a front radar for ADAS.
Arbe saw losses of $11.6m, up from $9m in Q1 2021, with an increase in research and development expenses from $5.8m to $9.5m. Revenue for Q2 2022 was $1.2m, an increase from $0.5m in Q2 2021 and the backlog of orders was $1.5m.
The company has $71.3m in cash and cash equivalents with no debt. It expects revenues for the full year to be in the range of $7m to $11m as projects mature.
