Who founded Sense Photonics?

Sense Photonics was founded by Charles Angus Pacala, Mark Frichtl, Eric Younge in 2015.

Who are Sense Photonics's investors?

Sense Photonics's investors include Amity Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Creative Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, IDEA Fund Partners, Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, R7 Partners and 3 more.

How much funding has Sense Photonics raised?

Sense Photonics has disclosed $212.9M raised across 2 of its 4 known rounds.

Where is Sense Photonics headquartered?

Sense Photonics is headquartered in San Francisco, US.

Sense Photonics

San Francisco, US · Founded 2015 · 386 employees on LinkedIn · 11 known investors

Find your way into Sense Photonics

Ouster develops high-resolution lidar sensors for long, mid, and short-range applications, enabling automation and autonomous systems across infrastructure and industrial sectors. The company provides both hardware sensors and digital ecosystem software to support smart infrastructure, autonomous machines, and industrial automation globally.

AI & Machine Learning Deep Tech Hardware IoT Robotics

Founders & leadership

Sense Photonics was founded in 2015 by Charles Angus Pacala, Mark Frichtl, and Eric Younge.

Charles Angus PacalaCo-founder

Mark FrichtlCo-Founder, CTO

Eric YoungeCo-Founder, Principal Engineer

Zachary FrankelNamed on SEC filing

David BlauNamed on SEC filing

Ashok M. RaoNamed on SEC filing

Board

Isaac PritzkerBoard director

Riaz ValaniBoard director

Susan HeysteeBoard director

Investors · 11

Amity Ventureslisted by Amity VenturesSan Francisco · $1M – $5M

How we know: Amity Ventures's portfolio page · a partner's Signal profile · Not right? Tell us

Congruent Ventureslisted by Congruent VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $5M

How we know: Congruent Ventures's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Creative Ventureslisted by Creative VenturesSan Francisco Bay Area · $1M

How we know: Creative Ventures's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Fontinalis Partnerslisted by Fontinalis PartnersDetroit · $250K – $5M

How we know: Fontinalis Partners's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us

IDEA Fund Partnerslisted by IDEA Fund PartnersChapel Hill · $250K – $500K

How we know: IDEA Fund Partners's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Piva Capitallisted by Piva CapitalSan Francisco

How we know: Piva Capital's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Prelude Ventureslisted by Prelude VenturesSan Francisco · $100K – $5M

How we know: Prelude Ventures's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

R7 Partnerslisted by R7 PartnersChicago · $100K – $5M

How we know: R7 Partners's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

Redbus Ventureslisted by Redbus VenturesLondon

Runway Growth Capitallisted by Runway Growth CapitalMenlo Park · $10M – $150M

How we know: Runway Growth Capital's portfolio page · Not right? Tell us

PETRONAS VenturesreportedKuala Lumpur

How we know: the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us

Funding

SEC filings, press & company announcements

$212.9M disclosed across 2 of 4 rounds · 2019–2026

$192MraisedJul 2026 · 4 sources
Source ↗
Undisclosed amountSeries AJun 2019
Source ↗

▶$20.9MraisedJun 2020 · 26 investors · Other Technology

Rule 506(b)

Officers, directors & promoters on the filing

Isaac PritzkerDirector
Riaz ValaniDirector
Mark FrichtlExecutive Officer, Director
Zachary FrankelDirector
David BlauDirector
Charles Angus PacalaExecutive Officer, Director
Ashok M. RaoDirector
Susan HeysteeDirector

Offering amount: $60M
Amount sold: $20.9M
First sale: Apr 2020
Incorporated: Corporation, Delaware
Federal exemptions: 06b

Full filing on SEC EDGAR ↗

Source: SEC EDGAR Form D. Amounts as filed; amended filings shown once at their latest values.

Competitors · 7

by search overlap

Clearpath Robotics30 shared keywordsClearpath Robotics builds unmanned vehicles and robotics platforms aimed at making robotics research and development easier for its customers. It serves R&D groups and researchers working on robotics applications, positioning itself in the robotics hardware sector.

Alibaba22 shared keywordsAlibaba.com operates a global B2B e-commerce marketplace that connects buyers with suppliers and manufacturers for wholesale products across multiple industries. The platform provides trade services, logistics support, payment protection, and AI-powered sourcing tools for businesses.

NavVis164 shared keywordsNavVis builds reality capture hardware (the LX-Series wearable/handheld SLAM scanners) and reality access software (NavVis IVION) that processes scan data into survey-grade point clouds, panoramic images, and browser-accessible digital twins. Its tools serve surveying, construction, and industrial teams creating digital twins of physical spaces and assets.

Netezza153 shared keywordsIBM is a global technology company whose business spans enterprise software (including Red Hat, HashiCorp, and Confluent), IT infrastructure such as mainframes, servers, and storage, and IT consulting services. The company is also investing heavily in quantum computing and AI-based enterprise offerings, including its Lightwell open-source software security clearinghouse and the Anderon quantum wafer foundry.

Flyability129 shared keywordsFlyability builds collision-tolerant indoor drones, including its flagship Elios 3, designed to navigate confined and hazardous spaces to collect inspection data for industries such as energy, wastewater, and mining. The Swiss company, an EPFL spin-off, provides drone technology for industrial inspection worldwide.

Ansys118 shared keywordsAnsys provides engineering simulation software used by engineers and students to design and test products. Its tools cover simulation across areas from silicon to systems.

Matterport114 shared keywordsMatterport provides 3D imaging and digital twin technology for real estate, construction, facilities management, and property marketing, enabling clients to visualize spaces remotely and make data-driven decisions.

Companies competing with Sense Photonics for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Frequently asked questions

What does Sense Photonics do?: Ouster develops high-resolution lidar sensors for long, mid, and short-range applications, enabling automation and autonomous systems across infrastructure and industrial sectors. The company provides both hardware sensors and digital ecosystem software to support smart infrastructure, autonomous machines, and industrial automation globally.
Who founded Sense Photonics?: Sense Photonics was founded by Charles Angus Pacala, Mark Frichtl, Eric Younge in 2015.
Who are Sense Photonics's investors?: Sense Photonics's investors include Amity Ventures, Congruent Ventures, Creative Ventures, Fontinalis Partners, IDEA Fund Partners, Piva Capital, Prelude Ventures, R7 Partners and 3 more.
How much funding has Sense Photonics raised?: Sense Photonics has disclosed $212.9M raised across 2 of its 4 known rounds.
Where is Sense Photonics headquartered?: Sense Photonics is headquartered in San Francisco, US.