Sony to make camera modules for self-driving car company

Sony has invested money in a Japanese company that is working on self-driving cars. The investment is part of a strategy to become the market leader in the emerging market of camera sensors for self-driving cars.

Sony made the investment in ZMP, a company that has been in existence since 2001, the Financial Times reported. The intention of the deal is that Sony will make the camera modules for the company’s cars, sources told the business newspaper.

With the investment, the Japanese company aims to position itself in the market for camera modules for self-driving cars, as it has done in the market for cameras for smartphones. Sony is now the market leader in the field of camera modules for smartphones, because Apple and sometimes Samsung, among others, purchase the cameras from the Japanese manufacturer.

Self-driving cars need the camera modules to be able to scan the road for the presence of other cars and objects on the road. This therefore forms an important input for the software, which after all has to avoid all those things. Sony has previously made it clear that it is working on cameras specifically for the automotive industry.

The investment in ZMP was not large in money and share. Sony invested 100 million yen, converted about 730,000 euros, in the company. For this it will receive a 2 percent share in ZMP. When the first cars with Sony camera modules will appear is unknown.