Ouster (company)

Ouster, Inc.

Company type	Public
Industry	Lidar technology
Founded	2015 (2015)
Founder	Angus Pacala, Mark Frichtl
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Shauna McIntyre (CEO of Ouster Automotive)
Products	High-definition digital 3D lidar sensors (OS0, OS1, OS2)
Website	ouster.com

Ouster, Inc. is a U.S.-based company specializing in lidar technology, headquartered in San Francisco, California. It designs and manufactures high-definition, digital 3D lidar sensors utilized across various sectors such as autonomous vehicles, industrial automation, robotics, drones, mapping, defense, and security applications.

The sensors developed by Ouster create images by capturing ambient infrared signals, complemented by software that enhances capabilities in vehicle perception and environmental mapping.

History

Ouster was established in 2015 by Angus Pacala and Mark Frichtl alongside two former Stanford colleagues after their experience at laser sensing firm Quanergy.

The company went public in December 2017 following a $27 million Series A funding round. In 2019, Ouster raised an additional $60 million led by Runway Growth Capital with participation from Silicon Valley Bank, Cox Enterprises, Constellation Tech Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, and Carthona Capital, bringing its total investment to $90 million.

In March 2021, Ouster completed a merger with the special-purpose acquisition company Colonnade Acquisition and commenced trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "OUST."

October 2021 saw Ouster agreeing to acquire Sense Photonics in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $68 million. This acquisition resulted in the formation of Ouster Automotive, headed by Sense’s CEO Shauna McIntyre.

In November 2022, Ouster and Velodyne Lidar announced an all-stock merger to unite their operations equally among existing shareholders. The merger finalized in February 2023 with the combined entity continuing under the Ouster name.

Operations

Ouster offers three principal lidar sensor lines—OS0, OS1, and OS2—each varying in size and detection range. These products are manufactured at facilities located in the United States and Thailand. The company’s customer base spans over 15 industries across 50 countries.

To support growth in 2019, Ouster established offices in Paris, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. That year also marked the integration of its sensors into Postmates’ 'Serve' autonomous delivery robots operating in Los Angeles and Kodiak’s trucks undergoing testing in Texas. Additionally, Ouster’s lidar technology was employed on drones participating in the 2019 DARPA SubT challenge within Pennsylvania coal mines. The sensors enable vehicles to detect, classify, and interpret their environment effectively.

Ouster was selected as a lidar provider by autonomous trucking startup Ike for commercial automated freight transport. The company also partners with Coast Autonomous to develop self-driving passenger shuttles and utility vehicles. Collaborations with NVIDIA and Volvo Trucks aim to advance commercial autonomous driving systems targeted for market introduction around 2022.

In 2020, Ouster collaborated with Chinese robotics company iDriverplus to supply lidar sensors for autonomous cleaning robots. During the COVID-19 pandemic response, they equipped fleets of unmanned cleaning and disinfecting vehicles with OS1-64 sensors that deliver full 360° 3D environmental awareness and obstacle detection capabilities.

Models

Name	OS0	OS1	OS2
Model	Generation 2	Generation 2	Generation 2
Launch Date	January 2020	January 2020	January 2020
Channel Options	32, 64, or 128	32, 64, or 128	32, 64, or 128
Maximum Range	55 meters	120 meters	240 meters
Minimum Detection Range	0 meters	0 meters	0 meters
Accuracy	±1.5 to 5 centimeters	±1.5 to 5 centimeters	±1.5 to 5 centimeters
Vertical Field of View	90°	45°	22.5°
Vertical Angular Resolution	0.7°	0.35°	0.18°
Horizontal Field of View	360°	360°	360°
Horizontal Angular Resolution (points)	512, 1024, or 2048	512, 1024, or 2048	512, 1024, or 2048
Rotation Frequency	10 or 20 Hz	10 or 20 Hz	10 or 20 Hz
Points Captured Per Second	2,621,440	2,621,440	2,621,440
Power Usage	14 to 20 watts	14 to 20 watts	18 to 24 watts
Nominal Voltage	24 volts	24 volts	24 volts
Mass	445 grams	455 grams	930 grams
Diameter Size	85 mm	85 mm	119.6 mm
Height Including Cap	73.5 mm	73.5 mm	98.5 mm

Awards and recognition

• The OS2-128 LiDAR sensor earned Ouster an Honoree distinction at the CES Innovation Awards in 2020 within the Vehicle Intelligence & Transportation category.