Radar Industry Report 2024: Industry Data & Insights

The radar industry faces challenges such as signal interference, high power consumption, and limited range. Emerging technologies like GaN transistors, AI, and software-defined radar address these issues. This report explores key market data and areas of innovation and their implications across industries.

The 2024 Radar Industry Report offers an in-depth analysis of the current landscape and prospects of the sector. It highlights advancements in technology, investment activities, and workforce expansion to reflect the industry’s development. The radar sector also saw a notable growth in employment and attracted interest from diverse investors, including private equity firms, government agencies, and startup accelerators. Innovation remains strong with emerging solutions such as mmWave radar, handheld radar, detect and avoid systems, and more.

This report on radar serves as a reference for stakeholders within the industry, investors, policymakers, and economic analysts, providing a snapshot of the industry’s health to map its trajectory for innovation and growth in the coming years.

StartUs Insights Radar Report 2024

Executive Summary: Radar Report 2024

This report is created using data obtained from the Big Data and AI-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering more than 4.7 million global companies, as well as 20K+ technologies and emerging trends. We also analyzed a sample of 976+ radar startups developing innovative solutions to present five examples from emerging radar industry trends.

  • Industry Growth Overview: The radar industry comprises 13980 companies that demonstrate market participation. It experienced a slight dip in its annual growth rate by 2.06%.
  • Manpower & Employment Growth: The industry employs 1.1 million workers to showcase its expansive workforce. Employment growth last year amounted to 59700 new employees, highlighting its capacity for rapid expansion.
  • Patents & Grants: The sector holds over 26400 patents and more than 2960 grants.
  • Global Footprint: The top country hubs include the USA, Germany, the UK, India, and Brazil. Major city hubs include London, New York City, Sydney, Shenzhen, and Berlin.
  • Investment Landscape: The average investment value stands at USD 34.6 million per round. The industry attracted more than 1300 investors and closed over 3290 funding rounds. More than 1380 companies received investments.
  • Top Investors: Top investors include STIC Investments, OMERS Private Equity, and Orica. The combined investment value amounts to USD 2.2 billion.
  • Startup Ecosystem: The top five startup features include MatrixSpace (portable radar), aiRadar (radar imaging systems), millilab (mmWave radar sensing), Diamond Microwave (edge microwave GaN SSPA), and RadarV (detect & avoid system).
  • Recommendations for Stakeholders: Investors should diversify their portfolios to include companies emphasizing advancement in signal processing, autonomous vehicles, and military & defense applications. Entrepreneurs should explore scalable solutions, particularly in radar imaging, environmental monitoring, and traffic management. Government entities should increase funding for radar-specific R&D, create public-private partnerships to expedite innovation, and support startups and SMEs in the radar field.

Explore the Data-driven Radar Outlook for 2024

The Radar Report 2024 uses data from the Discovery Platform and encapsulates the key metrics that underline the sector’s dynamic growth and innovation. With a total of 13980 companies, the industry demonstrates adequate breadth. Industry growth in the last year experienced a slight downturn of -2.06%. The technologies in the sector received over 26400 patents which shows the industry’s focus on innovation. Additionally, more than 2960 radar companies received grants to support various research initiatives.

Global manpower stands at 1.1 million, illustrating widespread employment. Employee growth in the last year amounted to 59700. The USA leads as the top country hub, followed by Germany, the UK, India, and Brazil. London emerges as the top city hub, with New York City closely following. Other significant city hubs include Sydney, Shenzhen, and Berlin. The heat map above provides the geographic distribution of startups in the radar industry to reveal top hubs for innovation.

What data is used to create this report on radar?

Based on the data provided by our Discovery Platform, we observe that the radar industry ranks among the top 5% in the following categories relative to all 20K topics in our database. These categories provide a comprehensive overview of the industry’s key metrics and inform the short-term future direction of the industry.

  • News Coverage & Publications: More than 26K+ news articles were published about the radar industry.
  • Funding Rounds: There are over 27000 funding rounds recorded in our database that indicate the financial support to this sector.
  • Manpower: The industry employs more than 1.1 million workers, with 59700 new employees added last year alone.
  • Patents: With 26400+ patents, the sector demonstrates its innovation and intellectual property areas.
  • Grants: It secured over 2960 grants to support diverse research and development efforts.
  • Yearly Global Search Growth: Yearly global search growth stands at 18.02% and reflects the increasing interest and engagement with the industry.
  • and more. Get in touch to explore all data points used to create this radar report.

A Snapshot of the Global Radar Market

The radar market demonstrates growing metrics across several key areas. With a manpower base of 1.1 million employees, it showcases its expansive workforce. Last year, the industry saw an employee growth of 59K, highlighting its capacity for expansion. The total number of companies within this sector reaches 13980, reflecting the market participation.

Explore the Funding Landscape of the Radar Industry

Investment activity in the radar industry stands with an average investment value of USD 34.6 million per round. This figure underscores investor confidence and growth potential. The industry consists of over 1300 investors, illustrating high interest and financial backing, closing over 3290 funding rounds. Further, more than 1380 companies received investments that showcased the sector’s attractiveness to venture capitalists and other financial entities. This data collectively highlights the radar industry’s growth-oriented development.

Who is Investing in Radar?

The radar industry attracted substantial investment from top investors, with a combined investment value exceeding USD 2.2 billion. This figure underscores the sector’s strong financial backing.

  • STIC Investments funded 2 companies, contributing USD 637 million.
  • Orica supported 2 companies with a total of USD 516 million.
  • Barclays financed 2 companies with an investment totaling USD 471 million.
  • The U.S. Department of Defense contributed USD 1.4 million across 18 companies.
  • Techstars nurtured 12 companies with a combined funding of USD 1.9 million.
  • Y Combinator provided USD 1 million to 5 companies.
  • and more. Contact us to explore all investment data in the radar industry.

These investments highlight the diversity of funding sources, ranging from private equity and corporate investors to government and accelerator programs. The radar industry’s ability to attract such varied and substantial funding underscores its innovation and potential for growth.

Geospatial Analytics includes 451 companies. Employing a total of 15900 individuals, the trend area saw an addition of 2200 new employees in the last year. The annual trend growth rate stands at 16.27% to showcase the increasing demand for geospatial data and analytics. The applications range from environmental monitoring to urban planning and defense. 

The Electronic Warfare sector of the radar industry encompasses about 542 companies. It employs a workforce of 74400, with 4100 new employees added in the last year. However, the sector experienced a slight decline with an annual trend growth rate of -2.96%. Despite this, electronic warfare remains vital for military and defense applications and focuses on disrupting and protecting against adversarial electronic systems. 

4D Imaging is represented by 112 companies that specialize in this technology. The sector employs 3800 individuals and welcomed 388 new employees in the last year. The annual trend growth rate of 11.87% highlights the increasing adoption of 4D imaging technology. This trend provides enhanced spatial and temporal resolution for applications in healthcare, autonomous vehicles, and industrial inspection.

5 Top Examples from 976+ Innovative Radar Startups

The five innovative startups showcased below are picked based on data including the trend they operate within and their relevance, founding year, funding status, and more. Book a platform demo to find promising startups, emerging trends, or industry data specific to your company’s needs and objectives.

MatrixSpace develops Portable Radar

US-based startup MatrixSpace develops MatrixSpace Radar, a light and portable device for digitizing outdoor environments. The radar uses a low-cost architecture and offers new information and details from ground or air locations. Its real-time AI edge-based sensing detects and tracks multiple types of objects in any situation. It features encrypted communication protocols and provides range velocity maps with target detections. The device consumes ultra-low power that suits battery or solar panel usage in remote or temporary setups. It finds applications in industries such as defense, utilities, sports, oil & gas, and smart cities.

aiRadar builds Radar Imaging Systems

Canadian startup aiRadar develops advanced modular software-defined mmWave radars. Using the aiRadar programming language (aiRPL) and aiRadar processing unit (aiRPU), these radars provide adaptability and cognitive responses similar to the human brain’s amygdala. The multi-mode interferometer (MMI) series includes models MMI-100, MMI-200, and MMI-400, each offering different power, coverage, and storage capabilities. The startup’s Real Aperture Scanning Radar for counter uncrewed aerial systems offers performance in detection in range, azimuth, elevation, and moving target indication. The Drone Deployed Synthetic Aperture Radar uses the proprietary Time Domain Back Projection (TDBP) processor to get images. These radars enable 3D surveillance and multi-target tracking.

Millilab provides mmWave Radar Sensing

Taiwanese startup Millilab provides millimeter wave (mmWave) radar solutions. The startup’s algorithm detects vital signs while maintaining privacy and suits applications such as in-cabin child presence detection (CPD) and driver monitoring systems (DMS). Its 24GHz and 60GHz radar sensors enable monitoring in healthcare settings, including elder care and baby monitoring. These sensors also support parking lot vacancy detection and suspicious activity monitoring in automotive applications.

Diamond Microwave uses Edge Microwave GaN SSPA

UK-based startup Diamond Microwave develops high-power, microwave solid-state power amplifiers (SSPA) for radar and communications. Its product range includes SSPAs with broadband, C-band, X-band, and Ku-band. These compact amplifiers offer high power-to-volume ratios. The SSPAs feature power outputs ranging from 100W to 1kW and operate in frequency bands between 2GHz and 18GHz. Key features include gallium nitride (GaN) transistor technology, drain pulsing, inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interfaces, and digital phase adjustment.

RadarV makes Detect & Avoid System

Israel-based startup RadarV builds technology to enable safe navigation for multiple platforms in shared airspace and enhance drone operations. Its, RADARV-DAA, an airborne radar-based detect-and-avoid (DAA) system, provides automated safe beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operation. It mounts on drones or air mobility platforms and avoids manned aircraft. The technology offers situational awareness, supports operations including man-in-the-loop or on-the-loop, and suits most autopilots and unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) systems. RadarV impacts markets from surveying, mapping, and imaging in industries such as mining, oil and gas, and construction.

Looking for Comprehensive Insights into Radar Trends, Startups, or Technologies?

The 2024 Radar Outlook emphasizes the sector’s slowing growth and high-tech innovation. This report provides essential insights and an understanding of the radar industry’s trajectory while underscoring its role in modern technology and defense. Get in touch with us today and explore all 976+ startups and scaleups, as well as all industry trends impacting radar companies worldwide.

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