Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (TSEM) and LightIC Technologies have entered a strategic partnership that will extend Tower’s mature silicon photonics foundry into the automotive, robotics, and Physical AI sectors through the production of LightIC’s Lark long‑range automotive LiDAR and FR60 compact LiDAR for robotics. The collaboration leverages Tower’s high‑volume manufacturing capabilities to bring LightIC’s Frequency‑Modulated Continuous‑Wave (FMCW) LiDAR designs to market at scale, reducing size, power consumption, and cost compared with conventional solutions.
LightIC’s Lark LiDAR is engineered for long‑range automotive applications, while the FR60 is the world’s smallest 4D FMCW LiDAR, targeting robotics and Physical AI use cases. By integrating coherent optical functions directly onto silicon, LightIC can deliver velocity‑aware sensing that is essential for advanced driver‑assist systems and autonomous driving, and the partnership allows Tower to apply its silicon photonics expertise beyond data‑center networking into new sensing markets.
The automotive LiDAR market is projected to grow from $859 million in 2024 to $3.6 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate of 24%, according to Yole Group. The broader LiDAR landscape is expected to reach $6.3 billion by 2027. These figures underscore the strategic importance of the partnership, positioning Tower to capture a share of a rapidly expanding market while diversifying its revenue base.
Tower’s Vice President and General Manager of the RF Business Unit, Dr. Ed Preisler, said the partnership “expands our silicon photonics market beyond AI infrastructure into new sensing applications, and it is a key step in bringing velocity‑aware sensing for robotics, Physical AI and automotive markets.” LightIC CEO and Co‑Founder Jie Sun added that “utilizing Tower’s silicon photonics process enables us to integrate complex coherent LiDAR optical functions into silicon on a scalable, manufacturable platform suitable for product qualification and long‑term production, which is fundamental to delivering commercially viable 4D FMCW LiDAR solutions.”
Tower’s Q3 2025 earnings—released November 10, 2025—showed revenue of $396 million, up 6% quarter‑over‑quarter and 7% year‑over‑year, with net profit of $54 million. The company guided for Q4 2025 revenue of $440 million, an 11% sequential increase and 14% year‑over‑year growth, exceeding analyst expectations. The partnership aligns with Tower’s $300 million investment in silicon photonics and silicon germanium capacity, reinforcing its strategy to scale high‑margin AI and sensing solutions.
Investors welcomed the partnership, citing the strategic expansion into a high‑growth automotive LiDAR market and the leverage of Tower’s mature foundry as key drivers of positive sentiment. The collaboration is expected to strengthen Tower’s competitive position in advanced sensing and broaden its revenue streams beyond data‑center networking.
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