Point One: On the Road to Full Vehicle Autonomy

Given all the advances made by companies such as 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

Select Alumni Ventures funds invested in Point One’s $10 million Series A round in 2021, as well as this year’s Series B, raising an undisclosed amount. Sibling fund Nassau Street Ventures (for the Princeton community) is also invested in Point One, as well as AV’s Deep Tech Fund, Growth Fund, and Total Access Fund.

As Triphammer Managing Partner 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 venture capital 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.”