Targeting the 3 megapixel mainstream market: Valens (VLN.US) partners with Ansemi to simplify automotive camera architectures

The Zhitong Finance App notes that Valens Semiconductor (VLN.US) shares surged about 8% before the market on Monday. Earlier, the company announced a partnership with ON.US (ON.US) to develop a cost-optimized integrated sensor based on the MIPI A-PHY standard for high-volume 3 megapixel car camera applications.

Under the agreement, Valens will co-develop an A-PHY-based solution — a technology used to transfer high-speed data from in-vehicle cameras and sensors — and can be directly integrated into Ansemi's image sensors.

This can reduce the number of independent components required and make it easier for car manufacturers and their major component suppliers (i.e. tier-1 tier 1 suppliers) to adopt the technology.

Aiming at mainstream car cameras

The partnership aims to simplify car camera design. Ansemi said that integrating this technology can reduce the number of components, create a more streamlined camera architecture, and support industry-standard connection interfaces.

This is important because Valens' new products aren't just aimed at high-end camera systems. The company said that most car image sensors currently target the 1 million to 3 megapixel range. As a result, the 3 megapixel solution can both cover a mature high-volume market and meet the needs of car manufacturers who are upgrading to higher resolution cameras.

Valens CEO Yoram Salinger called the agreement a “major milestone” for the company and the MIPI A-PHY ecosystem, and said the cost-optimized product could expand A-PHY into a wider range of applications. He also emphasized that Ansemi itself is an A-PHY chip supplier, and its addition will allow automakers to have more supplier choices in this industry standard.

Valens automotive business to expand in 2027

This latest collaboration is part of Valens' broader effort to drive commercialization around MIPI A-PHY, the automotive industry's first standardized solution for high-speed sensor connectivity. Valens said the company was the first company to bring compliant chipsets to market and has received design targets from several automakers.

In its financial report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, Valens said that all four of its targeted automotive design projects are progressing through vector production, and revenue is expected to start growing in 2027. The automobile business revenue for the quarter reached 5 million US dollars, up from 4.3 million US dollars in the same period last year, but lower than 5.9 million US dollars in the previous quarter.

The company's total revenue for the second quarter increased from US$17.1 million in the same period last year to US$18.1 million, exceeding the company's previous guidance. Valens then raised its revenue forecast for the full year of 2026 to $78 million to $81 million.