Tel Aviv-Based Eyesight Raises $15 Million To Help Curb Distracted Driving

By Noah Long • Oct 26, 2018

Tel Aviv, Israel-based Eyesight has announced that it raised $15 million in funding this week. With this round of funding, Eyesight plans to expand the deployment of its Eyesight Automotive Edge Computer Vision AI solution. This round of funding was led by Jebsen Capital. Arie Capital, Mizrahi Tefahot, and several other investors also participated in this round.

Eyesight uses cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor the activity of drivers. For example, the technology can track gaze direction, pupil dilation, eye openness, head position, and other visual attributes. And it can enable alerts when there are signs of drowsiness or distraction. This technology is known as Eyesight’s Driver Monitoring and Occupancy Monitoring System.

And Eyesight’s technology is also able to scan the entire car such as backseat passengers. This real-time optimization of safety systems helps reduce potential injuries and keeps passengers safe as well. Based on the passengers that are in the car, the Eyesight platform can personalize the in-car experience such as music playlists and adjustments of driver seats and mirrors, according to VentureBeat.

A number of “brand-name” automobile companies have signed partnerships with Eyesight. And these automakers will be integrating the Eyesight platform into their vehicles. Soling, a China-based auto supplier company, is collaborating with Eyesight in order to integrate computer vision technology into their vehicle safety systems.

Eyesight was founded by Itay Katz, who previously worked at Motorola Semiconductors (Freescale). While at Motorola, Katz, oversaw a broad range of high level projects like the implementation of video encoders and decoders for Motorola DSP.

“The company’s proprietary technology is backed by over 23 granted patents, utilizing advanced computer vision and artificial intelligence algorithms to deliver market-leading performance. Eyesight’s technology is optimized for edge processing on the device in real-time, offering high accuracy with lean requirements, while ensuring full privacy to the end user,” said Eyesight in a news release.