Phlux Technology secures £4m funding for ‘world leading’ sensors

The company, designers of high-performance sensors that surpass the capabilities of silicon-based sensors, has secured £4m in seed funding in a round led by Octopus Ventures. 

Phlux has developed infrared sensors using antimony, which improves their performance in LiDAR, the technology behind the control and navigation of autonomous machines including cars and robots. 

According to Sheffield University, the sensors are the world’s first antimony-based LiDAR sensor chips with architecture that is 10 times more sensitive and has 50 per cent more range compared to silicon-based sensors. Its design also reduces the cost of manufacture of LiDAR sensors, opening them up to mass market adoption.

In a statement, Ben White, CEO and co-founder of Phlux Technologies, said: “Our ambition is to become the Nvidia of the sensor market, starting off with delivering the world’s first LiDAR sensor chip using antimony. 

“Industry will never achieve full autonomy with LiDAR if it relies on silicon-based sensors, so our approach will reshape the sensor market for robotics and self-driving machines.”