Tech investors are watching the shares of Velodyne Lidar (NASDAQ:VLDR) this morning after company agreed to integrate its infrastructure solution with Nvidia’s (NASDAQ:NVDA) Metropolis program. The VLDR stock price was up more than 3% at the market open.
Nvidia’s Metropolis seeks to bring to market a new generation of applications and solutions that make the world’s most important spaces and operations safer and more efficient with advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) vision. Velodyne’s Intelligent Infrastructure Solution will be integrated for traffic monitoring in a test in Austin, Texas.
As part of the Metropolis program, Velodyne gains increased exposure and access to Nvidia’s platform updates. Additionally, it can tap into the company’s diverse partner ecosystem to support lidar-based solution development.
Lidar is a technology used in corridor mapping, environment, exploration, urban planning and autonomous vehicles. Lidar sensor companies have scope for growth that’s beyond the automobile market. By 2027, the automotive lidar market is expected to be worth $3.21 billion.
VLDR Stock Seen as Long-Term Payoff
Last month, Nvidia announced that it would acquire DeepMap, a startup that creates high-definition maps for autonomous vehicles (AVs). The technology will enable an autonomous vehicle to know where it is and where it’s going.
Meanwhile, there is some debate as to whether lidar is the route to go. But auto companies both big and small have been experimenting with lidar in self-driving cars for some time now. The technology is still nascent, but Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) big break into the space has certainly cemented for some that it’s the future of the auto industry.
InvestorPlace Market Analyst Joanna Makris recently advised readers interested in lidar technology to lean toward buying several names as a bet on the sector. “No lidar stock has achieved the trifecta of pricing, adoption and market share. With no clear frontrunner, it makes sense to buy a basket of lidar stocks,” she wrote.
On the date of publication, Robert Lakin did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
InvestorPlace contributor Robert Lakin is a veteran financial writer and editor, including previous stints with Bloomberg News and as a buyside equity research editor. His Substack newsletter, TLV Strategist, covers the Israel business scene.
