About Light
Light is a Transportation, Automotive & Logistics company based in Palo Alto (United States) founded in 2013 by Rajiv Laroia, and was acquired by John Deere in May 2022. Developer of a tech-enabled platform offering camera-enabled perception solution for autonomous vehicles. It operates in the Transportation, Automotive & Logistics and Technology sectors. Light has raised $185.7 million across 4 funding rounds from investors including Bessemer Venture Partners, John Deere and SoftBank Vision Fund. The company was acqui-hired. Its focus areas include Connected Vehicles, Safety and Security, ADAS and Auto Tech. Its competitors include Pearl Auto, NODAR and ESCORT; 2 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Developer of a tech-enabled platform offering a camera-enabled perception solution for autonomous vehicles. Its technology involves multiple microlenses attached to the device achieving high megapixels. It lets users capture low-light images, achieve true optical zoom, and capture high-resolution pictures.
- Headquarters Palo Alto, United States
- Founders Rajiv Laroia
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsTransportation, Automotive & LogisticsTechnology
- Website light.co
- Social LinkedIn X
- Acquired by John Deere (May 2022)
- Total Equity Funding$185.7M (USD)
in 4 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$121M (USD), Series D
Jul 2018
- InvestorsBessemer Venture Partners
& 12 more
- Acquired byJohn Deere
(May 2022)
Funding Insights of Light
Light has successfully raised a total of $185.7M across 4 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series D round of $121 million completed in July 2018. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $185.7M
- Total Rounds 4
- Last Round Series D — $121M
- First Round $9.7M
(Jun 2014)
- Investors Count 12
All 4 funding rounds of Light with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2018 | $121M | Series D | – | SoftBank Vision Fund | |
| Jul 2016 | $30M | Series C | – | Google Ventures | |
| Jul 2015 | $25M | Series B | – | Formation 8 | |
| Jun 2014 | $9.7M | Series A | – | Bessemer Venture Partners, CRV |
13 investors in total: 11 institutional and 2 angel.
Investors in Light
Light has secured backing from 13 investors, including institutional, venture fund, and angel investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Bessemer Venture Partners, John Deere and SoftBank Vision Fund.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Venture capital investments in technology and startups. | 2016 | visionfund.com | London, United Kingdom | |
Corporate backed venture capital fund investing in multiple sectors | gv.com | Mountain View, United States | ||
Venture capital investments and support for entrepreneurs in technology and innovation sectors. | 1911 | bvp.com | Redwood City, United States | |
CRV is recognized as a venture capital firm investing in technology startups. | crv.com | Palo Alto, United States | ||
Early-stage investments are made by Eclipse across multiple sectors. | eclipse.vc | Palo Alto, United States | ||
VC Firm investing in the US | formation8.com | San Francisco, United States | ||
Early-stage tech-focused VC firm investing primarily in the US | tuesday.vc | San Francisco, United States | ||
Leica Camera is recognized for premium cameras and optics. | 1914 | leica-camera.com | Wetzlar, Germany | |
| stepstoneglobal.com | ||||
Fihmb is engaged in manufacturing mobile and consumer electronics globally. | fihmb.com |
Investor details for Light
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Light
5 people are tracked at Light (2 in leadership, 3 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Rajiv Laroia | Co-Founder | Leadership |
Harish Sarma | VP, Software Engineering | Leadership |
Chris Barnett | SVP Strategy & Licensing | Team |
Karen Yeh | Technical Program Manager | Team |
Ashok Veeraraghavan | Technical Advisor | Team |
Complete people profiles for Light
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Light
4 dated milestones of Light across 9 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Light is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $9.7M.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series D, of $121.0M.
- Exit Acquired by John Deere.
Competitors of Light
Light has 3 listed competitors in our database, 2 of them funded. They include Pearl Auto, NODAR and ESCORT.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pearlauto.com | 2014 | Scotts Valley, United States | $50M | 98 | Advanced automotive backup cameras and parking sensors are developed. | |
| nodarsensor.com | 2018 | Boston, United States | $14.26M | 9 | Advanced solid-state LiDAR sensors for autonomous vehicles are developed. | |
| escortradar.com | 1978 | West Chester, United States | 42 | Driver alert systems are offered via hardware and software solutions. |
Detailed competitors of Light
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Light
Websites that share an audience with Light (light.co).
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Light. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cnet.com | 100% | 21.9M | #3,019 | View details | |
glasbergen.com | glasbergen.com | 75% | #818,534 | – | |
| box.com | 75% | 74.3M | #381 | View details | |
| linkedin.com | 75% | 1.9B | #18 | View details | |
plus.google.com | plus.google.com | 75% | – | ||
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 7 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Light
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 7 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Autonomous Vehicles
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Light (Autonomous Vehicles) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Self-driving vehicle solutions are developed and deployed for transportation. | 2009 | Mountain View, California, United States | USD 27.1 B | |||
AI and SaaS-based self-driving solutions for autonomous vehicles are provided. | 2017 | Mountain View, California, United States | USD 692.62 M | USD 3 M | 2,619 | |
Developer of LiDAR-based sensors | 2002 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 129 M | USD 169.38 M | 192 |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Light
Complete news archive for Light
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about Light
Light was founded in 2013 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Light is headquartered in Palo Alto, United States. It is registered at Palo Alto, California, United States.
Light is a funded company, having raised a total of $185.7M across 4 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $9.7M, raised on Jun 2014.
Developer of a tech-enabled platform offering a camera-enabled perception solution for autonomous vehicles. Its technology involves multiple microlenses attached to the device achieving high megapixels. It lets users capture low-light images, achieve true optical zoom, and capture high-resolution pictures.
Light's top competitors include Pearl Auto, NODAR and ESCORT.
Light has 13 investors. Key investors include Bessemer Venture Partners, John Deere, SoftBank Vision Fund, Leica Camera, and Google Ventures.
Yes. Light was acquired by John Deere in May 2022.