Explore Technology (Beijing)

Explore Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., operating as Tanway, is a developer of LiDAR-based sensors for autonomous vehicles and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). The company was founded in 2017 with its headquarters in Beijing, China, and has since established an automotive-grade production line in Suzhou and an electronics R&D center in Chengdu. The founding team originates from the State Key Laboratory of the Department of Precision Instrument at Tsinghua University. The Founder and CEO is Dr. Wang Shiwei, who holds a Ph.D. from Tsinghua University and is an expert in LiDAR and optical systems design.

Tanway develops high-performance, solid-state and hybrid solid-state LiDAR sensors. Its product portfolio includes multi-line LiDAR tensors, single-line LiDAR tensors, and solid-state scanning LiDARs such as the Tempo, Duetto, Focus, and Scope series. A key feature of its technology is the hardware-level image pre-fusion product called Tanway Fusion, designed to improve the reliability and performance of multi-sensor fusion. These sensors are designed for applications like surround-view 2D scanning, target recognition, and collision warning in autonomous vehicles, ADAS, and unmanned mapping. The company serves the automotive industry, partnering with manufacturers like HYCAN and Trunk.Tech to integrate its LiDAR into mass-produced passenger and commercial vehicles.

Since its inception, Tanway has raised a total of $15.5M over 6 funding rounds. Its first funding round was a seed round in March 2018. A significant Series A+ funding round in 2023 raised over CNY 100 million and was led by investors including Cornerstone Venture Capital and Oriza. In September 2023, the company completed a strategic financing round led by Xiaomi. Other notable investors include Guosen Securities and Tsinghua Holdings. Tanway achieved IATF 16949 quality management system certification in 2022 and launched the world's first LiDAR-equipped mass-production MPV, the HYCAN V09.

Keywords: LiDAR sensors, autonomous driving, advanced driver-assistance systems, ADAS, solid-state LiDAR, automotive-grade sensors, hardware-level image fusion, automotive technology, perception systems, autonomous vehicles, sensor fusion, intelligent driving, commercial vehicles, passenger vehicles, Wang Shiwei, Tsinghua University, Tanway Fusion, collision warning, target recognition, unmanned mapping.