According to Semiconductor Today, Voyant Photonics has appointed former Valeo executive Clément Nouvel as its new CEO. The Long Island City-based company is shifting from development to commercialization of its on-chip FMCW LiDAR technology. Nouvel brings nearly a decade of LiDAR and automotive sensing experience from his time at Valeo. Voyant plans to deliver its first solutions in 2026 with initial pricing starting at $1,490 per unit.
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Why this leadership change matters now
Here’s the thing about LiDAR – we’ve been hearing about it for years, but it’s mostly stayed in the realm of expensive automotive prototypes and research labs. Traditional LiDAR systems are bulky, costly, and frankly, not ready for mass adoption. Nouvel’s move from a giant like Valeo to a smaller player like Voyant suggests something interesting is happening. He’s seen the scaling challenges firsthand, and he’s betting that Voyant’s chip-based approach might finally crack the code.
How the tech actually works
So what makes Voyant’s approach different? Basically, they’re putting everything on a single silicon chip using photonics. Traditional LiDAR uses time-of-flight measurement – it sends out laser pulses and times how long they take to bounce back. Voyant’s FMCW (frequency-modulated continuous wave) approach is more like how radar works – it continuously varies the frequency and compares what comes back. The big advantage? You get both distance AND velocity data simultaneously. No more separate calculations or additional sensors.
And here’s where it gets clever – they’re using integrated optical switches for beam steering instead of mechanical parts. Think thousands of microscopic switches on a chip rather than spinning mirrors or prisms. That means no moving parts, which translates to better reliability and potentially much lower costs at scale. It’s the same manufacturing playbook that made camera sensors and GPS chips cheap enough to put in every smartphone.
The real challenge ahead
Now, let’s be real – we’ve heard “cheap LiDAR” promises before. The technical hurdles are massive. Getting good range and resolution from something chip-scale? Maintaining performance in bright sunlight? Making it manufacturable at volume with decent yields? These aren’t small problems.
But the timing might be right. With everyone talking about physical AI and autonomous systems beyond just cars – think warehouse robots, drones, smart infrastructure – there’s growing demand for affordable, reliable 3D sensing. The question isn’t whether we need better sensors, but whether Voyant can actually deliver on the chip-scale economics promise. At $1,490 starting price, they’re still in premium territory, but if they can follow the camera sensor cost curve downward? That could change everything.
What physical AI really needs
Nouvel makes a good point about AI needing better data. We’ve got incredibly sophisticated AI models that can reason about the world, but they’re often working with limited sensor inputs. Current systems might give you a rough 3D point cloud, but what about precise velocity measurements? What about working in challenging lighting conditions? FMCW LiDAR could provide that richer dataset that AI systems actually need to make better decisions in real-world environments.
The transition from R&D to commercialization is always the hardest part. Voyant has apparently demonstrated silicon performance and yield with their Carbon products, but going from lab prototypes to mass production is a whole different ball game. If they can pull it off by their 2026 target, we might finally see LiDAR break out of the automotive niche and into the broader world of intelligent machines. But that’s a big if.
