Cepton Inc (CPTN) 2023 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Hello and welcome to the third-quarter 2023 Cepton, Inc. business update and earnings call. All participants will be in listen-only mode. (Operator Instructions) After today's presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. (Operator Instructions). Please note this event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Hull Xu, Chief Financial Officer. Please go ahead.

您好，歡迎參加 Cepton, Inc. 2023 年第三季業務更新與財報電話會議。所有參與者將處於僅聽模式。 （操作員說明）今天的演示結束後，將有機會提問。 （操作員說明）。請注意此事件正在被記錄。我現在想把會議交給財務長徐赫爾。請繼續。

Thank you and welcome to Cepton's third-quarter 2023 earnings call and business update. With me today are Jun Pei, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer; and Mitch Hourtienne, Chief Commercial Officer. During the call, we may refer to our unaudited GAAP and non-GAAP measures in our earnings release. The non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered as a substitute for or superior to the measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP.

感謝並歡迎參加 Cepton 2023 年第三季財報電話會議和業務更新。今天和我在一起的有共同創辦人兼執行長裴俊；和首席商務官 Mitch Hourtienne。在電話會議期間，我們可能會在收益發布中提及未經審計的 GAAP 和非 GAAP 衡量標準。非公認會計原則財務指標不應被視為替代或優於根據公認會計原則編制的財務績效指標。

Reconciliations for non-GAAP measures are included in our earnings release. I would like to remind everyone that comments made in this conference call may include forward-looking statements regarding the company's expected operational and financial performance for future periods. These statements are based on the company's current expectation and are subject to the safe harbor statements relating to the forward-looking statements contained in our earnings release and the slides that accompany this call. Actual results for future periods may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements due to a number of risks, uncertainties, or other factors, including those discussed in the earnings release or during today's call and those described in our filings with the US SEC.

非公認會計原則措施的調節包含在我們的收益發布中。我想提醒大家，本次電話會議中發表的評論可能包括有關公司未來時期預期營運和財務表現的前瞻性陳述。這些聲明是基於公司目前的預期，並受到與我們的收益發布和本次電話會議隨附的幻燈片中包含的前瞻性聲明相關的安全港聲明的約束。由於許多風險、不確定性或其他因素，包括收益報告中或今天電話會議中討論的因素以及我們向公司提交的文件中描述的因素，未來時期的實際結果可能與這些前瞻性陳述中明示或暗示的結果存在重大差異。美國證券交易委員會。

We are not undertaking any commitment to update these statements as a result of future events, except as required by law. As a quick reminder, this call is being recorded and you can find the earnings release and the slides that accompany this call, as well as the webcast replay of this call at investors.cepton.com. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Jun.

除非法律要求，否則我們不承諾因未來事件而更新這些聲明。快速提醒一下，本次電話會議正在錄音，您可以在 Investors.cepton.com 上找到本次電話會議的收益發布和幻燈片，以及本次電話會議的網路廣播重播。現在我想把電話轉給Jun。

Thank you, Hull, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining Cepton's third-quarter of 2023 earnings call. We will provide you with a business update and review our third quarter financial results with you. Before that, I'd like to congratulate Mitch on his promotion to Chief Commercial Officer. He has been a critical part of our business development efforts and we look forward to his continued contributions in his new role.

謝謝你，赫爾，大家下午好。感謝您參加 Cepton 2023 年第三季財報電話會議。我們將為您提供業務更新並與您一起審查我們的第三季財務業績。在此之前，我要祝賀米奇晉升為首席商務官。他一直是我們業務發展工作的重要組成部分，我們期待他在新職位上繼續做出貢獻。

For the second straight quarter, I'm proud to announce that we have delivered a new company record for quarterly product revenue. This quarter, we shipped the highest number of lidar units to our automotive end customers, as we continue to deliver on milestones to prepare for startup production. For the second straight quarter, we met our internal production targets. We're beginning to see our scale production efforts translate into revenue as we demonstrate our capability to meet demand of our customers.

我很自豪地宣布，我們連續第二個季度創造了公司季度產品收入的新紀錄。本季度，我們向汽車終端客戶交付了最多數量的雷射雷達裝置，我們繼續實現里程碑，為啟動生產做好準備。我們連續第二季實現了內部生產目標。隨著我們展示滿足客戶需求的能力，我們開始看到我們的規模生產努力轉化為收入。

I'm proud to report that we have passed the final software milestone for launch of series production, fully integrating AUTOSAR and cybersecurity software under one of the most rigid set of requirements in the automotive industry. We are proud to be one of the first lidar our companies in the industry that is serious production qualified. While Cepton stands ready to meet start-up production volume requirements, our lead OEM customer has experienced some recent automotive industry headwinds that was publicly known, which resulted in some vehicle launch delays. We're working through these and are confident our efforts in preparing for the anticipated production volume will be fully appreciated in the near future.

我很自豪地向大家報告，我們已經實現了量產啟動的最終軟體里程碑，在汽車行業最嚴格的要求之一下完全整合了 AUTOSAR 和網路安全軟體。我們很自豪能夠成為業界第一批具有嚴格生產資格的雷射雷達公司之一。雖然 Cepton 已做好滿足啟動產量要求的準備，但我們的主要 OEM 客戶最近經歷了一些眾所周知的汽車行業逆風，導致一些車輛發布延遲。我們正在努力解決這些問題，並相信我們為預期產量所做的準備工作將在不久的將來得到充分的認可。

On the Smart Infrastructure side, we have seen the smart coding application flourish with the addition of a new tolling operator customer, while we continue to fulfill our existing smart coding contracts. In addition, we continue to support application for smart airports, in partnership with The Indoor Lab. We expect these projects to mature into production orders for commercial deployment in the next few months.

在智慧基礎設施方面，我們看到智慧編碼應用隨著新的收費業者客戶的增加而蓬勃發展，同時我們繼續履行現有的智慧編碼合約。此外，我們與室內實驗室合作，繼續支持智慧機場的應用。我們預計這些項目將在未來幾個月內成熟為商業部署的生產訂單。

Moving on to technology, our software development work has become increasingly important, matching our hardware development work with our customers. Through extensive collaboration with our automotive OEM customers, our software teams have developed the best-in-class automotive software validation suite for ethernet-based sensors. In automotive applications, where our lidar is a key sensor modality, our domain expertise enables plug-and-play software solutions that can integrate into the broader lidar stack. Our software development capabilities extends our domain expertise to both the manufacturing production line, as well as the quality control processes, so we have visibility in all stages of a sensor's lifecycle.

轉向技術，我們的軟體開發工作變得越來越重要，使我們的硬體開發工作與客戶相匹配。透過與汽車 OEM 客戶的廣泛合作，我們的軟體團隊為基於乙太網路的感測器開發了一流的汽車軟體驗證套件。在汽車應用中，我們的光達是關鍵的感測器模式，我們的領域專業知識支援即插即用的軟體解決方案，可以整合到更廣泛的光達堆疊中。我們的軟體開發能力將我們的領域專業知識擴展到製造生產線以及品質控制流程，因此我們可以了解感測器生命週期的所有階段。

As we have discussed in prior quarters, we're continuing to build our business and delivered yet another record-setting quarter for revenue. Cepton remains steadfast in pursuing opportunities in automotive industry and remains in good position to win additional series production award, with sourcing decisions on the horizon. With that, I'll turn it over to Mitch for details on our efforts with customer programs.

正如我們在前幾個季度所討論的那樣，我們正在繼續發展我們的業務，並創造了另一個創紀錄的季度收入。 Cepton 仍然堅定地尋求汽車行業的機會，並且在即將做出採購決策的情況下，仍然有能力贏得額外的系列生產獎。這樣，我會將其轉交給米奇，以了解我們在客戶計劃方面所做的努力的詳細資訊。

Thank you, Jun. With our lead OEM customer, Cepton has continued to deliver on software development, meeting software release milestones and fine-tuning software validation tools for production readiness. The delay in launch of certain contracted vehicle models, was a result of the OEM wanting to fine tune products at the system and vehicle level. Additionally, our partner, Koito Manufacturing, has publicly unveiled their automotive manufacturing line in Japan, to support the production of our Vista-X90 automotive-grade behind the windshield lidar.

謝謝你，Jun。Cepton 與我們的主要 OEM 客戶一起繼續提供軟體開發、滿足軟體發布里程碑並微調軟體驗證工具以做好生產準備。某些簽約車型的推遲推出是由於整車廠希望在系統和車輛層面上對產品進行微調。此外，我們的合作夥伴 Koito Manufacturing 公開展示了他們在日本的汽車生產線，以支持擋風玻璃雷射雷達後面的 Vista-X90 汽車級產品的生產。

Thanks to our continued development and scaling efforts, our lidars are ready to go as we await further instructions from our OEM customer on vehicle rollouts and pursue new customer programs. On our RFI and RFQ activity, we remain in the final sourcing discussion for another major OEM lidar our sourcing decision for our long-range lidar, the same as we have reported last quarter. This decision is expected by the end of the year and has been delayed somewhat as a result of macroeconomic headwinds in the automotive industry. We've also entered final sourcing discussions with a major trucking OEM for our short-range lidar, with a decision also expected by the end of the year.

由於我們持續的開發和擴展工作，我們的光達已準備就緒，等待 OEM 客戶關於車輛推出的進一步指示並尋求新的客戶計劃。關於我們的 RFI 和 RFQ 活動，我們仍在對另一家主要 OEM 雷射雷達的最終採購討論中，我們對遠程雷射雷達的採購決定與我們上季度報告的相同。該決定預計在今年年底做出，但由於汽車業宏觀經濟的不利因素而有所推遲。我們還與一家主要卡車運輸 OEM 就我們的短程光達進行了最終採購討論，預計將於今年年底做出決定。

We hope to share more details in the upcoming months about production sourcing awards. On the Smart Infrastructure side, as Jun mentioned, we continued to ship against our largest commercial contract in the tolling application. This quarter, we added a new tolling operator customer, expanding our geographic reach of Cepton lidars into new US states, as well as internationally. We are also happy to announce continued maturity of projects in the airport application, with our partner, The Indoor Lab, with design wins at Tampa, New York's JFK, Denver, and San Francisco airports.

我們希望在接下來的幾個月中分享有關生產採購獎的更多細節。在智慧基礎設施方面，正如 Jun 所提到的，我們繼續按照收費應用中最大的商業合約出貨。本季度，我們增加了一個新的收費營運商客戶，將 Cepton 雷射雷達的地理覆蓋範圍擴大到美國新州以及國際範圍。我們也很高興地宣布，與我們的合作夥伴 The Indoor Lab 合作，機場應用專案不斷成熟，並在坦帕、紐約甘迺迪機場、丹佛和舊金山機場贏得了設計。

The initial use case of our lidar sensors will be security and passenger traffic management, but will be expanding into operations optimization and efficiency improvement for both indoor and outdoor applications. We started shipping sensors to fill these orders this quarter and we expect several other airports to enter the decision and deployment phases, both domestically and internationally, in coming quarters. I'll turn it back to Hull now.

我們的光達感測器最初的用例將是安全和客運管理，但將擴展到室內和室外應用的營運優化和效率提高。我們本季開始運送感測器來滿足這些訂單，我們預計其他幾個機場將在未來幾季進入國內和國際的決策和部署階段。我現在就把它轉回赫爾。

Thank you, Mitch. Starting with our third-quarter results, total revenue for the quarter was $3.8 million an increase of 112% compared to the prior year period and up 38% compared to our previous quarter. Product revenue was $3.8 million, a new record for the company this quarter, an increase of 114% compared to the prior year comparable period and up 37% compared to our previous quarter. Our strong product revenue growth was driven by an increase in shipment volumes to automotive OEM customers. There was minimal development revenue this quarter.

謝謝你，米奇。從我們第三季的業績開始，該季度的總營收為 380 萬美元，比去年同期成長 112%，比上一季成長 38%。產品營收為 380 萬美元，創公司本季新紀錄，比去年同期成長 114%，比上一季成長 37%。我們強勁的產品收入成長是由汽車 OEM 客戶出貨量的增加所推動的。本季的開發收入微乎其微。

We achieved positive gross margin of 13% on a GAAP basis, primarily driven by revenue mix shift between automotive and Smart Infrastructure customers and fixed cost leverage, on a record level of unit shipments. Third quarter GAAP net loss was 1$1.3 million or $0.71 per share, basic and diluted. Non-GAAP net loss was $9.2 million or $0.58 per share, basic and diluted. As a reminder, we completed our previously announced the 1-for-10 reverse stock split this quarter, so all historical per share metrics have been adjusted for comparative purposes.

以 GAAP 計算，我們實現了 13% 的正毛利率，這主要得益於汽車和智慧基礎設施客戶之間的收入組合轉變以及固定成本槓桿，單位出貨量達到了創紀錄的水平。第三季 GAAP 淨虧損為 130 萬美元，即每股基本虧損和稀釋虧損 0.71 美元。非 GAAP 淨虧損為 920 萬美元，即每股基本虧損和稀釋虧損 0.58 美元。提醒一下，我們在本季完成了先前宣布的 10 股反向股票分割，因此所有歷史每股指標都已出於比較目的進行了調整。

Third quarter non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA was negative $9.9 million. As of September 30, 2023, we had approximately $61 million in cash and short-term investments and no debt. As a result of our [beat] OEM start-up production delay, we are revising our full-year guidance to reflect the impact on our business. We now expect our full-year revenue to be between $9 million and $11 million and we expect our non-GAAP operating expenses for the year to be below $15 million, driven by higher operating efficiencies and increased discipline on expenses. And with that, I'd like to open up the call for questions.

第三季非 GAAP 調整後 EBITDA 為負 990 萬美元。截至 2023 年 9 月 30 日，我們擁有約 6,100 萬美元的現金和短期投資，沒有債務。由於我們的 OEM 啟動生產延遲，我們正在修訂全年指導，以反映對我們業務的影響。現在，我們預計全年收入將在 900 萬美元至 1,100 萬美元之間，在更高的營運效率和加強支出紀律的推動下，我們預計今年的非 GAAP 營運支出將低於 1,500 萬美元。至此，我想開始提問。

(Operator Instructions) Tom Narayan, RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員指示）Tom Narayan，RBC 資本市場。

Hi, thanks for taking the question and congrats, Mitch. First question is on, I guess, the major OEM, they called out with the delay there. Just curious, I mean that OEM has also talked about pushing out there I think their EV schedule as well. And I guess the question is just understanding what their ambitions are, in light of issues they've been having also with their robo-taxi business and delays there? How convicted are you that business is just a matter of a delay as opposed to something more serios? That's the first question.

嗨，感謝您提出問題並恭喜米奇。第一個問題是，我猜，主要的原始設備製造商，他們呼籲那裡的延遲。只是好奇，我的意思是 OEM 也談到了在那裡推出我認為他們的電動車時間表。我想問題只是了解他們的雄心是什麼，鑑於他們在機器人出租車業務上也遇到的問題以及那裡的延誤？您有多確信生意只是拖延問題，而不是更嚴重的事？這是第一個問題。

Yeah, thanks, Tom, this is Mitch. I can speak to that. So we can't get too far out in front of the OEM in terms of details so we'll defer to them on specific vehicle and feature details for the launch. The information we have now is that's a few months delay. This was indicated in GM's earnings release on October 24. They talked a little bit about the new software organization led by Michael Abbott and the fact that they're going to be doing some software fine tuning at the vehicle and system level. And we've reflected that in our Q4 revenue update today.

是的，謝謝，湯姆，這是米奇。我可以談談。因此，在細節方面我們不能在 OEM 面前走得太遠，因此我們將在發布的特定車輛和功能細節上尊重他們的意見。我們現在掌握的資訊是延遲了幾個月。通用汽車 10 月 24 日發布的財報中就表明了這一點。他們談到了由 Michael Abbott 領導的新軟體組織，以及他們將在車輛和系統層級進行一些軟體微調的事實。我們在今天的第四季度收入更新中反映了這一點。

Okay, but --.

好吧，但是——。

Tom, this is Hull. Just to add to answer your question. You're asking how committed we are in terms of that program. From Cepton's point of view, we are very committed to supporting GM in that program. So nothing on that has changed.

湯姆，這是赫爾。只是添加來回答您的問題。您是在問我們對該計劃的承諾程度如何。從 Cepton 的角度來看，我們非常致力於支持 GM 的該計劃。所以這一切都沒有改變。

Okay. And there's indication on your end that there is a risk to that. It's more of a delay is the point, not a cancelation, not like an about-face completely, right?

好的。有跡象表明，這樣做存在風險。重點是推遲，而不是取消，也不完全是一個大轉變，對吧？

Yeah, I assume here that is correct. And you can refer to GM's earnings call transcript for that. It's really meant to be a delay. Yes.

是的，我認為這是正確的。您可以參考通用汽車的財報電話會議記錄。這確實是為了拖延。是的。

Okay. And then the other OEM, Mitch, you talked about anything just to give you a sense of what order of magnitude or anything we can understand about that OEM know potential there?

好的。然後另一個 OEM，Mitch，您談到的任何事情只是為了讓您了解 OEM 知道那裡的潛力的數量級或我們可以了解的任何內容？

Yeah, it's relatively the same size as our initial, maybe even bigger than our initial OEM series production win. We advanced even further through the process through the quarter. I indicated there has been some small delays on the final decision because of some of the headwinds out in the market that you're aware of. But we still expect a favorable decision before the end of this year.

是的，它的尺寸與我們最初的尺寸相同，甚至可能比我們最初的 OEM 系列生產勝利更大。我們在整個季度的流程中取得了進一步的進展。我表示，由於您所知道的市場上的一些不利因素，最終決定出現了一些小延遲。但我們仍然預計今年年底前會做出有利的決定。

Okay. And my last one, on that macroeconomic backdrop, obviously, EV slowdown and that there is a narrative that OEMs might -- if the price mix falls, in addition with higher labor costs, that they may try to reduce content per vehicle. What is your sense of the appetite for lidar in the vehicle? Is there some concern -- just kind of a narrative of what I've been asking before like, more of delays as opposed to outright cancellations, it sounds like. I mean, how do you see this macro backdrop impacting? I mean, how committed do you think OEMs will be to lidar and those particular?

好的。我的最後一個觀點是，在宏觀經濟背景下，顯然，電動車放緩，並且有一種說法是，原始設備製造商可能會——如果價格組合下降，加上勞動力成本上升，他們可能會嘗試減少每輛車的含量。您對車內雷射雷達的需求有何感受？是否有一些擔憂——這只是我之前問過的問題的一種敘述，聽起來更多的是延誤而不是徹底取消。我的意思是，您如何看待這宏觀背景的影響？我的意思是，您認為 OEM 廠商對光達及其特殊產品的投入程度如何？

Yeah. Thanks, Tom, that's good question. We're still very engaged with all of our target OEM customers. We believe this is more of a transitory impact, these delays, as they reorg and figure out how they want to launch. I mean, let's remember, lidar is part of the safety suite. There's no ending appetite for safety.

是的。謝謝，湯姆，這是個好問題。我們仍然與所有目標 OEM 客戶保持著密切的聯繫。我們認為，這更多的是暫時的影響，這些延遲，因為他們重組並弄清楚他們想要如何啟動。我的意思是，讓我們記住，光達是安全套件的一部分。人們對安全的渴望永無止境。

So with that comment, it's not tied strictly to EVs. Some of our contracted vehicles are also ICE vehicles. So the need for increased safety is real and the investments by the OEMs continue to increase. And we don't see that going away. We think this is a delay as they reorganize and figure out how to launch.

因此，這一評論並不嚴格與電動車相關。我們的一些合約車輛也是內燃機車輛。因此，提高安全性的需求是真實存在的，原始設備製造商的投資也不斷增加。我們認為這種情況不會消失。我們認為這是一個延遲，因為他們正在重組並弄清楚如何啟動。

And I'll add, Tom, here since we're talking about the macro and the automotive industry trend, right? On the EV side, OEMs are definitely going into a price war, right, led by Tesla. And margins are going to compress because of that ASPs coming down and also the labor costs have gone up. So if you think about where they make money is actually on the optional equipment. And for lidar, safety is a necessity. But initially those are going to be optional equipment, right? So that's actually where they could make some profit margin.

湯姆，我要補充一點，因為我們正在談論宏觀和汽車行業趨勢，對嗎？在電動車方面，原始設備製造商肯定會陷入價格戰，對吧，以特斯拉為首。由於平均售價下降以及勞動成本上升，利潤率將會壓縮。所以如果你想想他們賺錢的地方其實就是在可選裝備上。對於光達來說，安全是必要條件。但最初這些都是選配設備，對嗎？所以這實際上是他們可以賺取一些利潤的地方。

Got it. Okay. Thanks a lot.

知道了。好的。多謝。

Thanks, Tom.

謝謝，湯姆。

(Operator Instructions) Kevin Garrigan, WestPark Capital.

（操作員說明）Kevin Garrigan，WestPark Capital。

Yeah. Hey, guys, I appreciate taking my questions and congrats on the progress. So in your previous answer, you had mentioned that you're seeing delays along with EVs. Are the companies that are developing internal -- or the car OEMs are doing more internal combustion engines? Are they not nearly as delayed as automotive OEMs that are focusing more on EV platforms?

是的。嘿，夥計們，我很高興回答我的問題，並祝賀我們的進展。因此，在您先前的回答中，您提到您看到了電動車的延誤。是那些正在開發內燃機的公司，還是汽車原始設備製造商正在生產更多的內燃機？難道它們不像更關注電動車平台的汽車原始設備製造商那樣延遲嗎？

It's a good question, Kevin, this is Mitch. Yeah, so the traditional OEMs have both, right? They're transitioning from ICE to EV, but they're going to maintain the ICE vehicles. And Mary Barra talked about it in the GM earnings release about the traction they had gained in the luxury segment and that expand across ICE and EVs. So I wouldn't say one way or the other, there's been delays on ICE versus EVs or traditional companies versus up-and-coming companies. And I think this resorts back to the megatrend hole was talking about.

這是一個很好的問題，凱文，我是米奇。是的，所以傳統的 OEM 廠商兩者都有，對嗎？他們正在從內燃機轉向電動車，但他們將保留內燃機車輛。瑪麗·巴拉 (Mary Barra) 在通用汽車的財報發布會上談到了他們在豪華車領域獲得的吸引力以及在內燃機和電動汽車領域的擴張。因此，我不會說無論哪種方式，內燃機與電動車或傳統公司與新興公司都存在延遲。我認為這又回到了我們所說的大趨勢洞。

Yeah. And there's also the just the macro events associated with the automobile industry, that is pretty obvious in the last couple of months, that is finally resolved, as you may be aware of. And all of these are not EV specific. So it's across the board. So it's not one way or the other. It's really a macro effect here.

是的。正如您可能知道的那樣，還有與汽車行業相關的宏觀事件，在過去幾個月中非常明顯，最終得到了解決。所有這些都不是電動車特有的。所以這是全面的。所以這不是一種方式或另一種方式。這確實是一個宏觀效應。

And add that EV, although it does changes to OEM priorities, right? EV has been the priority for quite some time, maybe a couple of years. And the recent headwind on EV, having some of the OEMs refocus their attention on ICE vehicles and bring those vehicles up to technology standard, so that, internally, would take some time. And the good thing with our award is that we are awarded both ICE vehicles platform and also EV platforms.

再加上電動車，儘管它確實改變了 OEM 的優先事項，對嗎？電動車在相當長一段時間內（也許是幾年）一直是人們的優先事項。最近電動車面臨的阻力，一些原始設備製造商重新將注意力集中在內燃機汽車上，並使這些車輛達到技術標準，因此，在內部，這需要一些時間。我們獲獎的好處是我們同時獲得了內燃機汽車平台和電動車平台。

Okay. Perfect. No, I appreciate that color. And then, you mentioned you're fully integrating cybersecurity software. How big of a talking point is cybersecurity in dealing with lidar systems and perception software?

好的。完美的。不，我很欣賞這種顏色。然後，您提到您正在完全整合網路安全軟體。在處理光達系統和感知軟體時，網路安全是一個多大的話題？

Yeah. I mean, cyber security is table stakes for launching a lidar for automotive, I mean, it's similar to radar cameras. Any element of perception that could pose a threat if it was accessed externally, go through very rigid cybersecurity requirements. Our lead OEM, General Motors, has a notable requirement on that front. That's one of the most rigid in the industry, and that's what we talked about today: finally integrating all those requirements.

是的。我的意思是，網路安全是推出汽車光達的賭注，我的意思是，它類似於雷達攝影機。任何如果被外部存取都可能構成威脅的感知元素，都需要經過非常嚴格的網路安全要求。我們的主要 OEM 通用汽車公司在這方面有一個顯著的要求。這是行業中最嚴格的要求之一，這就是我們今天討論的內容：最終整合所有這些要求。

Okay, perfect. I appreciate the color. Thanks, guys.

好的，完美。我很欣賞它的顏色。多謝你們。

Thanks, Kevin.

謝謝，凱文。

Matthew Galinko, Maxim Group.

馬修·加林科，Maxim 集團。

Hey, thanks for taking my question. I guess, with respect to the delayed to your primary automotive customer, does that change or does that delay any further decisions on new vehicle platforms or programs at that OEM? Or can you talk about how those conversations and decisions are progressing?

嘿，謝謝你回答我的問題。我想，對於您的主要汽車客戶的延遲，這是否會改變或延遲該 OEM 對該新車平台或專案的任何進一步決定？或者您能談談這些對話和決策的進展嗎？

Yes, Matt, good question, this is Mitch. We have to defer to the OEM in that case. We can't give in too many specifics on vehicles. We've been concentrated on the contracted and awarded vehicles, of course, and we're still engaged with General Motors, right? We're still engaged with our target customers who are constantly talking about additional vehicles, additional programs, features. I think I have to just leave it at that.

是的，馬特，問得好，我是米奇。在這種情況下，我們必須服從 OEM。我們不能透露太多有關車輛的細節。當然，我們一直專注於合約和授予的車輛，而且我們仍然與通用汽車合作，對吧？我們仍然與目標客戶保持聯繫，他們不斷談論額外的車輛、額外的程序和功能。我想我只能這樣了。

And the communication we have been getting from GM is really these few months of delay based on, basically, their release and there is no discussion on further vehicle platforms, one way or the other.

我們從通用汽車那裡得到的資訊實際上是這幾個月的延遲，基本上是基於它們的發布，並且沒有任何關於進一步車輛平台的討論。

Got it. Okay. I guess two quick follow-ups: One being, I guess past the automotive decision that you expect between now and the end of the year, are there any other programs that you're far along in that you expect to be decided in 2024? Or is that the end of the decisioning process for the time being?

知道了。好的。我想有兩個快速的後續行動：一是，我想除了您期望從現在到今年年底之間做出的汽車決策之外，還有其他項目您預計在 2024 年做出決定嗎？還是決策過程暫時結束？

Yeah, this is Mitch. There's one other major opportunity we've been working on, major European trucking OEM. That's for our short-range lidar called Nova and we're in the final phase of that RFQ and expect a decision before the end of the year.

是的，這是米奇。我們一直致力於另一個重大機會，那就是歐洲主要的卡車運輸原始設備製造商。這是我們名為 Nova 的短程光達的情況，我們正處於 RFQ 的最後階段，預計在今年年底前做出決定。

Got it. Okay. But for just automotive, the non-truck in 2024, that's pretty much all you're able to talk about today?

知道了。好的。但對於 2024 年的汽車（非卡車）來說，這幾乎就是您今天能談論的全部了？

Okay, you're asking other automotive long-range lidar sourcings in 2024?

好的，您是在詢問 2024 年其他汽車遠程雷射雷達採購情況嗎？

Yeah.

是的。

Yeah, there's always OEMs in the pipeline, there's some in the RFI phase right now. I don't think there's anything as immediate as the couple we talked about today. But there will be additional sourcings next year for sure.

是的，總是有 OEM 廠商在籌備中，有些現在正處於 RFI 階段。我認為沒有什麼比我們今天談論的這對夫婦更直接的了。但明年肯定會有更多的採購。

Got it, all right. And last question for me is just on the smart infrastructure opportunities, it sounds like you're building off that base and expanding out with it. Can you give us a maybe preliminary sense of what you have in the pipeline? What's that means as a maybe baseline looking out to 2024 just given delays on the automotive side? And I assume you're not really in a place to talk about that side of the business at this point. But on the infrastructure side, can you give us a preview of what we should expect for 2024?

明白了，好吧。對我來說，最後一個問題是關於智慧基礎設施的機會，聽起來你正在建立這個基礎並利用它來擴展。您能否讓我們初步了解您正在醞釀的內容？考慮到汽車方面的延誤，這作為展望 2024 年的基準線意味著什麼？我認為您現在還沒有機會談論業務的這一方面。但在基礎設施方面，您能給我們預覽 2024 年我們應該期待什麼嗎？

I think one comment I can make is we talked about our tolling customers that we landed earlier in 2023, a multimillion-dollar contract that we've been fulfilling this year. Today, we updated we have another major customer in the tolling space. We see the airport; we're offering more details on the airport installations. I'll just say the size of the contracts are all in that multimillion-dollar range and we expect to be fulfilling multiple contracts in 2024; whereas we just basically filled one major contract in 2023.

我想我可以發表的一個評論是，我們談論了我們在 2023 年早些時候登陸的收費客戶，這是我們今年一直履行的一項價值數百萬美元的合約。今天，我們更新了收費領域的另一個主要客戶。我們看到了機場；我們將提供有關機場設施的更多詳細資訊。我只想說，這些合約的規模都在數百萬美元範圍內，我們預計將在 2024 年履行多個合約；而我們在 2023 年基本上剛剛簽訂了一份主要合約。

Got it. All right. Thank you.

知道了。好的。謝謝。

Richard Shannon, Craig-Hallum.

理查德·香農，克雷格·哈勒姆。

Thanks, guys for taking my questions. I jumped on the call late here during the Q&A and I want to follow-up on an answer that I don't think I heard the question very clearly, sorry if I'm repeating this. But I think you talked about an award here and I think it's referring to the one you listed in the front page of your press release here about final sourcing decisions for another major vehicle OEM award. Is that the one that you're referring to when you said it's a perhaps a bigger size at initial start of ramp than your current one? And is that the one you expect to be decided before the end of this calendar year?

謝謝你們回答我的問題。在問答環節我很晚才接到電話，我想跟進一個我認為我沒有聽清楚這個問題的答案，如果我重複這一點，抱歉。但我認為您在這裡談到了一個獎項，我認為它指的是您在新聞稿首頁列出的關於另一個主要汽車原始設備製造商獎項的最終採購決策的獎項。當您說在坡道初始開始時它的尺寸可能比您目前的尺寸更大時，您指的是這個尺寸嗎？您希望在今年年底前做出決定嗎？

Hey, Richard, this is Mitch. Yeah, you're exactly right, that's the one thing we were talking about.

嘿，理查德，這是米奇。是的，你說得對，這就是我們正在談論的一件事。

Okay. And are you aware of whether you are the only one at this at this stage or are there still competition present?

好的。您是否知道現階段您是唯一的公司還是仍存在競爭？

I can't comment on if there are others. We know it's down to the final stage, we've been in this process for six months now. So at this stage, there's likely no more than one or two companies.

如果還有其他人我無法評論。我們知道現在已經到了最後階段，我們已經在這個過程中進行了六個月了。所以現階段，可能不會超過一兩家公司。

Okay, fair enough then. I want to follow up on the industry dynamic here in terms of software integration on the broader sensor suite, including lidar, that seems to be presenting some issues across the industry and wondering if you're seeing any further signs of that? And have those issues that have come up here, have those have generally been solved? And are you seeing any delays in sourcing decisions because of this dynamic?

好吧，那就公平了。我想跟進更廣泛的感測器套件（包括光達）的軟體整合方面的行業動態，這似乎在整個行業中提出了一些問題，並想知道您是否看到了任何進一步的跡象？這裡出現的那些問題是否已經普遍解決？您是否發現採購決策因這種動態而出現任何延遲？

Yeah. I think one thing Jun talked about today is the integration of ethernet-based sensors. So most lidars have an ethernet output, a lot of the newest radars have an ethernet output. So we've developed a suite of software validation tools working on the GM program that's really state-of-the-art. But that's a big challenge to overcome. Outside of that, there's the perception software side, which we're not taking care of for this particular OEM contract. So I think that's another area that is challenging. And I think what you're seeing today isn't much different from some of the other news that you're talking about from other OEMs over the past year.

是的。我認為Jun今天談到的一件事是基於乙太網路的傳感器的整合。因此，大多數光達都有乙太網路輸出，許多最新的雷達都有乙太網路輸出。因此，我們開發了一套適用於 GM 程式的軟體驗證工具，這確實是最先進的。但這是一個需要克服的巨大挑戰。除此之外，還有感知軟體方面，我們在這個特定的 OEM 合約中不關心這一點。所以我認為這是另一個具有挑戰性的領域。我認為您今天看到的內容與您在過去一年中談論的其他原始設備製造商的其他新聞沒有太大不同。

Yeah. So the ADAS/AV software integration is indeed challenging, but it's not really specific to lidar. In fact, Cepton, we make lidar and we tried to make our lidar with these ethernet-based tools to validation procedures to make it, certainly not the bottleneck of the entire stack of ADAS and we actually very much shine in that. But there is certainly challenges in the entire stack integration, as you can see in the industry. But is part of the growing pains and it will be over in a few months.

是的。因此，ADAS/AV 軟體整合確實具有挑戰性，但它並不是專門針對雷射雷達的。事實上，Cepton，我們製造光達，我們試圖用這些基於乙太網路的工具來製造我們的光達，以驗證程序，使其肯定不是整個 ADAS 堆疊的瓶頸，實際上我們在這方面非常出色。但整個堆疊整合肯定存在挑戰，正如您在業界看到的那樣。但這就是成長煩惱的一部分，幾個月後就會結束。

Okay, fair enough. One last question for me and I'll jump out of line here. Another interesting passage here in your press release is about technology, the fact you're on track to launch your next-gen long-range lidar. What's your what's your timeframe for launching? And assuming everything stays on track, what would be the first time you'd like and see sample and then getting to production? Is this something that could happen in calendar '26 or is it further out from that?

好吧，很公平。最後一個問題我會在這裡跳出來。您的新聞稿中的另一個有趣的段落是關於技術的，您即將推出下一代遠程雷射雷達。您的啟動時間表是多少？假設一切都按計劃進行，您希望第一次看到樣品然後投入生產是什麼時候？這是26年曆中可能發生的事情還是更遙遠的事情？

Yeah, the next-gen sample is will definitely be ready for calendar year '26 and beyond. We're already starting to demonstrate to some of the lead candidate OEMs and we'll continue that process through the first-half of next year and even working with Koito on some of their customers on that.

是的，下一代樣品肯定會在 26 日曆年及以後做好準備。我們已經開始向一些主要候選 OEM 進行演示，我們將在明年上半年繼續這一過程，甚至與 Koito 就他們的一些客戶進行合作。

Okay. Fair enough. That's all for me, guys. Thank you.

好的。很公平。這就是我的全部了，夥計們。謝謝。

Tom Narayan, RBC Capital Markets.

湯姆‧納拉揚 (Tom Narayan)，加拿大皇家銀行資本市場部。

Hey, guys, thanks for taking the follow-up. Actually just had a follow up on something Hull was saying about safety. And I was just wondering if, right now, it's an optionality you were talking about. But I wonder if you could flip the script maybe? And is this something that maybe you guys could lobby or maybe the greater lidar industry could lobby regulators to potentially mandate something like use of lidar in addition to radar camera?

嘿，夥計們，感謝您的關注。實際上只是對赫爾所說的有關安全的事情進行了跟進。我只是想知道，現在這是否是您所說的一種選擇。但我想知道你是否可以翻轉劇本？你們是否可以遊說這一點，或者更大的光達行業可以遊說監管機構，以強制要求除了雷達攝影機之外還使用光達之類的東西？

But just like Level 2 plus, Level 3, even further offerings. Is that something that you guys do lobbying regulators? Or do you see that as a potential catalyst for you guys down the road? We've all seen the numbers on safety test levels notoriously gives those stats. I think their product is like five times safer than the regular car on the road. some. So, yeah, on that greater topic of lobbying regulators to make this mandatory, is that something that you think could happen? Thanks.

但就像 2 級加級、3 級甚至更多產品一樣。這是你們遊說監管機構所做的事情嗎？或者你認為這對你們來說是一個潛在的催化劑嗎？我們都見過安全測試級別的數字給出了這些統計數據。我認為他們的產品比路上的普通汽車安全五倍。一些。那麼，是的，關於遊說監管機構強制執行這一更大的話題，您認為這可能會發生嗎？謝謝。

Yeah, definitely, thanks for the question, that's a great point. In fact, I did have a meeting with the Department of Transportation officials, maybe a couple of months ago, about some of these topics. It's broader but all centered around safety, whether it's vehicle service safety or infrastructure safety. But absolutely, we do see lidar taking the path of cameras and seatbelts and airbags in the safety of vehicles over time and that's exactly what we're driving toward. And the prerequisite of that also is one of economics to, right? So the cost has to come down over time and that's exactly what we are working on, the performance goes up, cost goes down over a period of time.

是的，當然，謝謝你的提問，這是一個很好的觀點。事實上，大約幾個月前，我確實與交通部官員就其中一些話題進行了會面。它範圍更廣，但都以安全為中心，無論是車輛服務安全還是基礎設施安全。但毫無疑問，隨著時間的推移，我們確實看到光達在車輛安全方面正在走上攝影機、安全帶和安全氣囊的道路，而這正是我們正在努力實現的目標。其先決條件也是經濟學之一，對嗎？因此，成本必須隨著時間的推移而下降，這正是我們正在努力的方向，隨著時間的推移，效能會上升，成本會下降。

Got it. Thanks a lot.

知道了。多謝。

Of course.

當然。

Thank you. This concludes our question-and-answer session. I would now like to hand the call back to CEO, June Pei, for closing remarks.

謝謝。我們的問答環節到此結束。現在我想將電話轉回給執行長 June Pei，讓其致閉幕詞。

Yeah. Again, thank you all very much for joining us summarizing this record revenue quarter. We look forward to meet again next time to tell you of this exciting year of 2023 and share more exciting news. Thank you.

是的。再次非常感謝大家與我們一起總結這個創紀錄的營收季度。我們期待下次再次相聚，向您講述2023年這個激動人心的一年，並分享更多令人興奮的消息。謝謝。

The conference has now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. You may now disconnect.

會議現已結束。感謝您參加今天的演講。您現在可以斷開連線。