AEye, Accelight Technologies, and LighTekton Co. Announce Partnership to Bring Lidar Solutions to China

Focus on autonomous trucking and railway safety systems

AEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIDR), a global leader in adaptive, high-performance lidar solutions, today announced it will partner with Accelight Technologies, Inc. (“ATI”) and LighTekton Co., Ltd. to deliver AEye’s 4Sight™ lidar solutions to the China market. Together, the group will help deliver safer autonomous trucking and railway systems in China, using AEye’s ultra-long-range 4Sight platform.

Matt Fisch, AEye CEO said, “China is leading the market in lidar adoption particularly as it applies to the build-out of its smart rail transit and investment in autonomous trucking for its highway system. Our 4Sight platform is an ultra-long-range solution that provides ‘safety at speed’ and could help deliver greater efficiency and safety for China’s dynamic public transportation systems. We are excited to work with two technology leaders to bring our 4Sight platform to China’s extensive highway and rail systems. ATI and LighTekton are the right partners to make this happen, with their advanced capabilities and innate desire to deliver a safer experience for both autonomous trucking and railways.”

“As Matt said, China is leading the market in lidar adoption and we are very excited to work with AEye to bring their ultra-long-range lidar to the China market, where the TAM is estimated to be $2.5 billion USD over the next 3 years. We believe AEye’s 4Sight technology will truly advance the overall safety experience in both autonomous trucking and railway systems,” says Gordon Gu, Chairman of ATI.

ATI is a global company and a manufacturer of passive and active pluggable modules used in fiber optic networks for telecom, datacenter, CATV, and broadband access networks. ATI’s dedicated team designs and manufactures high-quality optoelectronic products for various high-tech markets.

LighTekton is a high-tech enterprise focusing on photoelectric perception technology in the field of pan-autonomous driving, headquartered in Wuhan Optics Valley, China. With full-stack product R&D capabilities, based on optoelectronic technology and photoelectric and lidar sensors, it provides customers with a full range of services such as device packaging, module assembly, complete machine design, and solutions.

About AEye

AEye’s unique software-defined lidar solution enables advanced driver-assistance, vehicle autonomy, smart infrastructure, and logistics applications that save lives and propel the future of transportation and mobility. AEye’s 4Sight Intelligent Sensing Platform, with its adaptive sensor-based operating system, focuses on what matters most: delivering faster, more accurate, and reliable information. AEye’s 4Sight products, built on this platform, are ideal for dynamic applications which require precise measurement imaging to ensure safety and performance.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes accompanied by words such as “believe,” “continue,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “predict,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements included in this press release include statements about AEye’s entry into the China market with established players, and the potential application of AEye’s ultra-long-range 4Sight platform to the autonomous trucking and rail system markets in China, among others. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are very difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from the assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AEye. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risks that the partnership to bring lidar solutions to China may be unable to do so to the extent anticipated, or at all; (ii) the risk that the group may be unable to deliver safer autonomous trucking and railway systems in China using AEye’s ultra-long-range 4Sight platform to the extent anticipated, or at all; (iii) the risk that AEye’s ultra-long-range 4Sight platform may not find a market in China, in the autonomous trucking, railway systems, or other markets, to the extent anticipated, or at all; (iv) the risks that lidar adoption in China, particularly in smart rail transit and autonomous trucking, may not continue as anticipated, or at all; (v) the risks that AEye’s 4Sight platform may not be able to deliver greater efficiency or safety to China’s dynamic public transportation systems to the extent anticipated, or at all; (vi) the risks that either Accelight Technologies, Inc. or LighTekton Co., Ltd., or both, may be unable to bring AEye’s 4Sight platform to the China market, to the extent anticipated, or at all, including to China’s highway and rail systems; (vii) the risks that the TAM, or total accessible market, in China may not be $2.5 billion USD over the next 3 years; (viii) the risks that AEye’s 4Sight technology may not advance the overall safety experience, whether in autonomous trucking, rail systems, or otherwise, to the extent anticipated, or at all; (ix) the risks that lidar adoption may occur slower than anticipated or fail to occur at all; (x) the risks that AEye’s products may not meet the diverse range of performance and functional requirements of target markets and customers; (xi) the risks that AEye’s products may not function as anticipated by AEye, or by target markets and customers; (xii) the risks that AEye may not be in a position to adequately or timely address either the near or long-term opportunities that may or may not exist in the evolving autonomous transportation industry; (xiii) the risks that laws and regulations are adopted impacting the use of lidar that AEye is unable to comply with, in whole or in part; (xiv) the risks associated with changes in competitive and regulated industries in which AEye operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting AEye’s business; (xv) the risks that AEye is unable to adequately implement its business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; and (xvi) the risks of economic downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive and evolving industry in which AEye operates. These risks and uncertainties may be amplified by current or future global conflicts and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which continues to cause economic uncertainty. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of the periodic report that AEye has most recently filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and other documents filed by us or that will be filed by us from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.

Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements; AEye assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. AEye gives no assurance that AEye will achieve any of its expectations.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240514949677/en/