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The autonomous vehicle industry has advanced more slowly than many sensor companies anticipated when they built their business strategies over the past decade. As a result, developers of radar, LiDAR, and environmental sensing technologies are increasingly looking for new markets where their platforms can be deployed more quickly and generate revenue. One of the most promising opportunities is the defense sector, where demand for highly accurate and reliable sensing technologies continues to grow.
Against this backdrop, Arbe recently announced a framework agreement with a global defense systems integrator to integrate its radar technology into defense applications. At the same time, Innoviz, which originally developed LiDAR sensors for the automotive industry, has expanded into the defense market through partnerships focused on perimeter security, drone detection, and critical infrastructure protection.
Although the two companies rely on different sensing technologies, they address the same challenge: providing a reliable understanding of the surrounding environment under difficult operating conditions. Arbe’s radar uses radio waves to measure the distance, speed, and direction of objects, allowing it to operate effectively even in rain, fog, dust, and smoke. Innoviz, by contrast, relies on LiDAR sensors that emit laser pulses and measure the time it takes for the reflected light to return, creating a highly detailed three-dimensional map of the environment. While each technology has its own strengths, both deliver the high-resolution detection and tracking capabilities increasingly required in defense applications.
Systems of this kind can be deployed for border security, protection of critical infrastructure, drone detection, military vehicle sensing, and autonomous defense platforms. Combining radar, LiDAR, and additional sensors enables operators to detect and classify targets while maintaining performance even when one sensing modality is affected by environmental conditions.
The shift toward defense also reflects the commercial realities facing both companies. Arbe is currently valued at approximately $107 million on the U.S. market after its shares declined about 28% since the beginning of the year. Innoviz, meanwhile, is traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange at a valuation of approximately NIS 140 million, down 34.5% over the same period. For both companies, the defense market represents more than just another customer segment—it offers an opportunity to extend technologies originally developed for autonomous vehicles into applications where demand is expanding rapidly.
