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Autonomous vehicles
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Baidu-backed maker of self-driving vehicle sensors said to be in talks to go public

  • Velodyne Lidar, in which Baidu and Ford invested US$150 million in 2016, makes radar-like systems used in autonomous vehicles
  • Its technology is used by carmakers including Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and Ford

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A self-driving car operated by Baidu is seen on a public road test in Beijing on March 22, 2018. Baidu, together with Ford Motor Co, invested US$150 million in autonomous vehicle sensor maker Velodyne Lidar in 2016. Photo: Xinhua
Bloomberg
Blank-check company Graf Industrial Corp is in talks to merge with Baidu-backed Velodyne Lidar, a deal that would take public the maker of sensors used in self-driving vehicles, according to people familiar with the matter.

Graf Industrial is working with an adviser to help raise funding for the potential transaction, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the matter is not public. No deal has been reached and Graf Industrial could opt to pursue another target, one of the people said.

Houston-based Graf Industrial’s shares rose as high as 30 per cent on the news and closed at a record US$15, giving the company a market value of about US$457 million.

Representatives for Graf Industrial and Velodyne declined to comment.

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Baidu tests autonomous driving software at CES

Baidu tests autonomous driving software at CES

Velodyne creates radar-like systems for self-driving vehicles that use lasers to generate three-dimensional images of a surrounding environment. Its technology is used by carmakers including Mercedes-Benz and Ford Motor Co, according to its website.

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