Ghost Autonomy

Ghost Autonomy was a startup based in Mountain View, California, focused on developing autonomous driving software for consumer vehicles. The company aimed to make self-driving capabilities accessible and affordable by leveraging advanced machine learning algorithms and inexpensive hardware components like cameras and radar sensors commonly found in smartphones.

Ghost's approach involved training its system to detect and track obstacles based on their motion patterns and characteristics, rather than explicitly identifying and classifying objects. This simplified perception method allowed the software to run on low-power, cost-effective computing platforms, potentially enabling automakers to integrate autonomous driving capabilities into mainstream vehicles with a price tag around USD 30,000.

In December 2022, Ghost announced plans to commercialize its technology, with a target of integrating its software into production vehicles by 2025, offering Level four "attention-free" highway driving capabilities. However, in April 2024, Ghost unexpectedly announced it had shut down worldwide operations and wound down the company, citing an uncertain path to long-term profitability given the current funding climate and the substantial long-term investment required for autonomy development and commercialization.