# Junwei Bao

> Junwei Bao is the co-founder and CEO of Seyond (formerly Innovusion), a Silicon Valley-founded LiDAR company that went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2025. With a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley and a physics background from Peking University, Bao spent nearly two decades building precision optical sensors before pivoting to autonomous-driving hardware. He co-founded Timbre Technologies - the company that invented OCD (optical critical dimension) scatterometry, a kind of microscale LiDAR for semiconductors - then led Baidu's autonomous driving hardware division before founding Innovusion in 2016. Under his leadership, Seyond delivered 230,000 automotive-grade LiDAR units in 2024 and holds a 12.8% global ADAS LiDAR market share, ranking fourth worldwide.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Seyond
- **Organizations:** Seyond, Innovusion, Baidu USA, Tokyo Electron America, Timbre Technologies, SPIE
- **Nationality:** Chinese-American
- **Education:** B.S. in Physics, Peking University, M.S. and PhD in Electrical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley
- **Known for:** Co-founded Timbre Technologies, which invented OCD scatterometry for semiconductor manufacturing (acquired by Tokyo Electron in 2001), Led development of Innovusion Cheetah - first LiDAR with image-grade resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio for long-distance detection, Built Seyond into the 4th-largest ADAS LiDAR provider globally with 12.8% market share

## Career timeline

- **1991-1996** — Studied Physics at Peking University
- **1997-2003** — Pursued M.S. and PhD in Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley
- **~1999-2001** — Co-founded Timbre Technologies, inventing OCD (optical critical dimension) scatterometry - described as 'microscale LiDAR' for semiconductor manufacturing
- **2001** — Timbre Technologies acquired by Tokyo Electron Ltd. in February
- **2001-2014** — Held multiple roles at Tokyo Electron America (Timbre Technologies): Senior Research Scientist, Senior Director of Engineering and Technology, VP of Engineering and Technology
- **2014-2016** — Joined Baidu USA as Head of Autonomous Driving Hardware & Sensors and Head of HPC (High Performance Computing)
- **2016** — Co-founded Innovusion in Silicon Valley, serving as CEO
- **2021** — Raised $64 million Series B (Temasek, BAI Capital, Joy Capital, NIO Capital, Eight Roads Ventures, F-Prime Capital)
- **2021** — Developed first automotive-grade high-performance LiDAR supply chain
- **2022** — Innovusion rebranded as Seyond; held majority LiDAR market share for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles
- **2022** — Raised $66 million in Series B+ financing
- **2023** — Reached milestone of 200,000+ cumulative LiDAR units delivered; production capacity exceeded 300,000 units/year
- **2024** — Delivered approximately 230,000 automotive-grade LiDAR systems; ranked 4th globally in ADAS LiDAR revenue with 12.8% market share
- **2025-12** — Seyond listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (02665.HK) via De-SPAC merger, raising HKD 1.03 billion

## Achievements

- Co-founded Timbre Technologies, which invented OCD scatterometry for semiconductor manufacturing (acquired by Tokyo Electron in 2001)
- Led development of Innovusion Cheetah - first LiDAR with image-grade resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio for long-distance detection
- Built Seyond into the 4th-largest ADAS LiDAR provider globally with 12.8% market share
- Delivered 230,000+ automotive-grade LiDAR units in 2024 alone
- First company to achieve mass-production delivery across both 1550nm and 905nm/940nm LiDAR technology routes
- Led Seyond to a successful Hong Kong IPO in December 2025, raising HKD 1.03 billion
- Secured LiDAR supply relationships with NIO, DeepWay, Inceptio, and nominations from 10+ OEMs including three state-owned automakers
- Portfolio of 40+ patents focused on optical metrology and semiconductor process control
- 8+ years as member of SPIE (International Society of Optics and Photonics)

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Seyond listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange Main Board (02665.HK) via De-SPAC merger, raising approximately HKD 1.03 billion; shares opened at HK$10 and peaked at HK$17.30 on debut day
- **2024-12** — Seyond delivered approximately 230,000 automotive-grade LiDAR systems in 2024, ranking 4th globally in ADAS LiDAR revenue
- **2026-05** — Speaking at VivaTech 2026 as CEO of Seyond

## Links

- Website: https://seyond.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/junwei-bao-2018958

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/junwei-bao
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-12