Barry Behnken is a 25-year defense/aerospace executive with deep expertise in LiDAR and electro-optics, and extensive experience developing, managing and deploying disruptive imaging technologies for various applications throughout the world.  He served twenty years as a senior physicist and program manager in the U.S. Air Force, including as director of a $1.6B+ space satellite division, before retiring from active duty at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  Prior to AEye, he was Engineering Fellow for Emerging Laser Technologies at Raytheon Space and Airborne‌ Systems, where he led the development and fielding of new DARPA LiDAR technologies.  He holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in applied physics, and an M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

AEye is an artificial perception pioneer and creator of iDAR™, a perception system that acts as the eyes and visual cortex of autonomous vehicles. Since its demonstration of its solid-state LiDAR scanner in 2013, AEye has pioneered breakthroughs in intelligent sensing. The company is based in the San Francisco Bay Area, and backed by world-renowned investors, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Taiwania Capital, Hella Ventures, LG Electronics, Subaru-SBI, Aisin, Intel Capital, and Airbus Ventures.