Point One: On the Road to Full Vehicle Autonomy

Enabling Full Self-Driving Autonomy

Given the advances made by companies like Tesla and Waymo, you might expect self-driving vehicles to be a common sight on roads by now. However, a key pain point blocking their mainstream adoption has been precise, reliable navigation tech.

GPS, while universally available, is only accurate within 8.2 feet and loses signal in overpasses or where tall buildings interfere. Cameras lack depth perception, which is essential for full autonomy, they cannot see at night, and they are susceptible to weather conditions. Lastly, while LiDAR sensors are highly accurate, they are costly and hard to calibrate, maintain, and package.

In contrast, Point One Navigation’s game-changing technology is affordable, works anywhere, and provides the consistent, granular accuracy needed for full autonomy. Its product is able to report positioning within 4 inches, which is 100x greater precision than GPS, and its solution works for vehicles, robots, drones, and any other industrial application that’s movable and teleconnected — from transportation and delivery to construction, mining, and surveillance.

Disruptive Tech Earns Impressive Traction

Point One’s team has created a unique sensor fusion algorithm that combines corrected GPS, inertial navigation, computer vision, and mapping into a single package. They tightly integrate these data sources to produce a statistically optimal solution of position and orientation at a rate of 100x per second. This software-based solution can be easily integrated into almost any host device and is compatible with a vehicle’s existing sensors — making it much cheaper and simpler than hardware-based solutions.

Point One has attracted numerous beachhead customers, including name-brand auto manufacturers and leading tech companies. The company’s solution is also in use by drones and autonomous lawnmowers designed by Drone Deploy and Scythe Robotics, respectively.

How We Are Involved

Triphammer sponsored AV’s investments in Point One’s $10 million Series A in 2021 and a Series B in 2023. We co-invested alongside BOLT, IA Ventures, Ludlow Ventures, and UP.Partners. Sibling funds Nassau Street Ventures (for the Princeton community) as well as AV’s Deep Tech Fund, Growth Fund, and Total Access Fund also participated in the round.

As Triphammer Managing Partner Emeritus David Cynn noted, Point One is in line with the kinds of startups Triphammer seeks out — ones with crucial or disruptive technologies in large and growing marketplaces.

“That is why VC is different from the public markets,” said Cynn. “We’re trying to look around the corner for new businesses that disrupt the status quo today.”