Company Directory › Robotics › Machine Vision & 3D Sensing › Ouster vs SICK
Ouster vs SICK
Ouster and SICK are both machine vision & 3D sensing companies. Their verified profiles differ on headquarters and product lines. The table below sets out only those rows; everything else is on each company's own profile. Facts verified 6 November 2026.
Where they differ
| Company | Ouster | SICK |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States | Waldkirch, Germany |
| Product lines | OS series digital lidar (OSDome, OS0, OS1, OS2), DF series solid-state lidar and the Gemini perception platform | 2D and 3D LiDAR sensors (TiM, LMS), safety laser scanners, vision sensors and barcode and RFID identification |
Market context: United States
Industrial robot installations, 2025: almost 38,500 (+12% year on year). This counts industrial robots installed in the United States during the year, whichever country the supplier comes from; it describes the destination market and is not a figure about Ouster.
Source: International Federation of Robotics (IFR), World Robotics 2026, released 24 September 2026.
Market context: Germany
Industrial robot installations, 2025: fewer than 25,000 (-8% year on year). This counts industrial robots installed in Germany during the year, whichever country the supplier comes from; it describes the destination market and is not a figure about SICK.
Source: International Federation of Robotics (IFR), World Robotics 2026, released 24 September 2026.
How Ouster and SICK differ
Ouster in San Francisco, California, sells lidar as a digital product line — the OS series with OSDome, OS0, OS1 and OS2, the DF series of solid-state lidar and the Gemini perception platform — while SICK in Waldkirch, Germany, treats lidar as one shelf in a larger sensor store: TiM and LMS 2D and 3D LiDAR, vision sensors, safety laser scanners and barcode and RFID identification. Ouster reached Nasdaq through a SPAC merger completed in March 2021, with an associated PIPE financing that raised US$300M gross, and it sells into automotive, industrial, robotics and smart infrastructure markets. Founded in 1946, SICK reports around 12,000 employees; Ouster, founded in 2015, reports approximately 320. Its approximately 320 employees were split between 204 in the US and 116 overseas at the end of 2025, across the Americas, Asia-Pacific and EMEA. SICK, by contrast, is privately held, held privately by the SICK foundation and the founder's family, and its breadth is supported by more than 50 subsidiaries, equity investments and representative offices serving factory automation, logistics automation and process automation customers. The pairing pits a lidar specialist's platform against an incumbent's breadth.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between Ouster and SICK?
Ouster is based in San Francisco, California, United States and SICK in Waldkirch, Germany; they also differ on product lines. The table above sets out both companies' entries row by row.
Are Ouster and SICK in the same country?
No. Ouster is based in San Francisco, California, USA, United States and SICK in Waldkirch, Germany — SICK AG, Erwin-Sick-Str. 1, 79183 Waldkirch.
Can I source from both companies?
Yes. Ouster can be reached through ouster.com and SICK through sick.com, or post one sourcing request and let both answer if they fit.
Does GlobleMatch rank Ouster above SICK, or SICK above Ouster?
Neither. There is no pay-to-rank and no paid placement in comparisons; order and content come from verified profile facts only.
Run Ouster or SICK? Claim your free profile to keep your facts current.
Full profiles, with every fact and its source: Ouster and SICK. Profile facts last verified: Ouster on 6 November 2026, SICK on 6 November 2026.