--- KOITO deepens relationship with Cepton
by committing to a second investment in Cepton’s business in two
years to support advanced OEM engagements worldwide ---
Cepton Technologies, Inc. (“Cepton”), a leader in high
performance MMT® lidar solutions for Advanced Driver Assistance
Systems (ADAS), Autonomous Vehicles (AV) and Smart Infrastructure
applications, announced today that its automotive Tier 1 partner
and current shareholder, KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. (“KOITO”)
committed to invest a further $50 million in Cepton’s business.
KOITO’s second investment in Cepton’s business since 2020 will be
made through KOITO’s participation in a Private Investment in
Public Equity (PIPE) offering of shares of common stock of Growth
Capital Acquisition Corp. (“Growth Capital”) (Nasdaq: GCAC), a
special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), in connection with
Cepton’s recently announced proposed merger with Growth Capital.
KOITO has agreed to purchase 5,000,000 shares of common stock of
Growth Capital in the PIPE at a purchase price of $10.00 per share,
which is subject to the completion of, and will close
simultaneously with, the business combination.
KOITO originally started an evaluation of Cepton’s MMT® based
lidars in 2018. In 2020, KOITO made an investment in Cepton to help
accelerate Cepton’s development and enable KOITO’s
industrialization of high-performance and high-reliability lidar
sensors for ADAS and AV applications. As part of that transaction,
KOITO obtained non-exclusive rights to manufacture and sell
Cepton’s lidar sensor design for an automotive application, using
key components supplied by Cepton.
The KOITO-Cepton collaboration secured the largest ADAS lidar
series production award1 at a major global automotive OEM. To
support this design win and to prepare for anticipated series
production starting in 2023, KOITO has established a manufacturing
line for MMT® lidars. The elegant and low-cost MMT® architecture
using mainstream technologies enables a mirrorless, frictionless
and rotation-free lidar solution that meets the stringent demands
for ADAS such as high performance, high reliability, affordability,
and manufacturability at high volume. In parallel, Cepton continues
to focus on the advancement of MMT® lidars to support additional
ADAS OEM engagements and joint business opportunities. In order to
deepen the relationship with Cepton, and to support Cepton’s
investment in its business to support its strong commercial
traction, KOITO has decided to invest in Cepton’s business for a
second time.
Takayuki Katsuda, Director and Managing Corporate Officer of
KOITO said: “Based on our ‘Lighting for Your Safety’ corporate
message, KOITO has been working to develop and commercialize
lighting and sensing technologies to bring safety, security, and
comfort to the coming autonomous driving society. We have begun
developing products to satisfy customer needs through joint
development and investment with Cepton, which possesses advanced
lidar technologies for ADAS and autonomous driving. To help achieve
our plan to begin volume production in 2023, we intend to further
strengthen our relationship with Cepton through this additional
investment. We anticipate that KOITO-manufactured lidars using
Cepton technologies could be used in various locations in vehicles
including headlamps, dashboards, and behind the windshield. As a
leading company in automotive lighting equipment, KOITO will
contribute to safety and security of a future mobility society
through ‘Sensor-Lighting,’ our new lighting technologies with
sensing.”
Expressing gratitude for the ongoing relationship with KOITO and
additional investment commitment, Dr. Jun Pei, CEO of Cepton,
added: “Since Cepton was founded in 2016, we have focused primarily
on lidars for the ADAS market, to enable the next generation of
safety in mass-market consumer vehicles. Collaborating with KOITO,
a key technology and manufacturing partner as well as investor, has
enabled Cepton to achieve a large series production design win at a
major OEM and get interest from other automotive OEMs during the
past two years. We are grateful for KOITO’s investment commitment
in connection with our merger with Growth Capital, and the vote of
confidence it represents in Cepton’s MMT® lidars for ADAS and other
mass market applications.”
Akis Tsirigakis, President and co-CEO of Growth Capital, stated,
“Cepton has established itself as a leader in ADAS lidar through
its collaboration with KOITO and their lidar series production win
at a major global automotive OEM. Through our proposed business
combination with Cepton, we are thrilled to work with this
visionary team that is well-positioned for leadership in the
rapidly expanding ADAS market. I am equally excited that KOITO, a
global leader in the automotive market, is anchoring the PIPE in
our transaction.”
The consummation of the PIPE transaction is subject to numerous
closing conditions, including the consummation of the combination
of Cepton and Growth Capital.
____________________ 1 Largest known ADAS lidar series
production award based on number of vehicle models awarded
About Cepton Technologies, Inc.
Cepton provides state-of-the-art, intelligent, lidar-based
solutions for a range of markets such as automotive (ADAS/AV),
smart cities, smart spaces and smart industrial applications.
Cepton’s patented MMT®-based lidar technology enables reliable,
scalable and cost-effective solutions that deliver long range, high
resolution 3D perception for smart applications.
Founded in 2016 and led by industry veterans with over two
decades of collective experience across a wide range of advanced
lidar and imaging technologies, Cepton is focused on the mass
market commercialization of high performance, high quality lidar
solutions. Cepton is headquartered in San Jose, California, with a
presence in North America, Germany, Japan, India and China, to
serve a fast-growing global customer base. For more information,
visit www.cepton.com.
About KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.
Under the corporate message, “Lighting for Your Safety”, KOITO
MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. (KOITO) has been marking a history of
leadership in automotive lighting since its establishment in 1915.
Today, the KOITO Group consists of 31 companies located in 13
countries worldwide and provides products and services to customers
all over the world, through the global network led by five major
regions (Japan, Americas, Europe, China, and Asia.) Its products,
recognized for its high quality and advanced technology, are widely
used by automotive makers worldwide. The company is responding to
the future transformation of mobility through the development of
next-generation lighting technologies and related equipment,
control systems, and environmentally friendly products, materials,
and production methods. For more information, please visit
www.KOITO.co.jp.
About Growth Capital Acquisition Corp.
Growth Capital Acquisition Corp. (“Growth Capital”) is a
Delaware blank check company, also commonly referred to as a
special purpose acquisition company (or SPAC), formed for the
purpose of entering into a merger, capital stock exchange, asset
acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business
combination with one or more businesses or entities in any industry
or geographic region. Growth Capital is led by its Co-Chief
Executive Officers, Akis Tsirigakis and George Syllantavos.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements herein are “forward-looking statements” made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not
historical facts, including the parties’ perspectives and
expectations, are forward looking statements. Such statements
include, but are not limited to, revenue opportunities and
anticipated future financial and operating performance and results.
Such forward-looking statements reflect Cepton’s current
expectations or beliefs concerning future events and actual events
may differ materially from current expectations. Forward-looking
statements may be identified by the use of words such as
“estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “will,”
“expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target,” “designed to”
or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events
or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. Any
such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties, including (1) the success of our strategic
relationships, including with our Tier 1 partners, none of which
are exclusive; (2) the possibility that Cepton’s business or the
combined company may be adversely affected by other economic,
business, and/or competitive factors; (3) the risk that current
trends in automotive and smart infrastructure markets decelerate or
do not continue; (4) the inability of the parties to successfully
or timely consummate the proposed business combination, including
the risk that any required regulatory approvals are not obtained,
are delayed or are subject to unanticipated conditions that could
adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of
the proposed business combination or that the approval of the
stockholders of Growth Capital or Cepton is not obtained; (5) risks
related to future market adoption of Cepton’s offerings; (6) the
final terms of Cepton’s arrangement with its Tier 1 partner and, in
turn, its Tier 1 partner's contract with the major global
automotive OEM differing from Cepton's expectations, including with
respect to volume and timing, or the arrangement can be terminated
or may not materialize into a long-term contract partnership
arrangement; (7) the ability of Growth Capital or the combined
company to issue equity or equity-linked securities in connection
with the proposed business combination or in the future; (8) the
inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the proposed
business combination, which may be affected by, among other things,
the amount of cash available following any redemptions by Growth
Capital’s stockholders; (9) the ability of the combined company to
meet the initial listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market upon
consummation of the proposed business combination; (10) costs
related to the proposed business combination; (11) expectations
with respect to future operating and financial performance and
growth, including when Cepton will generate positive cash flow from
operations; (12) Cepton’s ability to raise funding on reasonable
terms as necessary to develop its product in the timeframe
contemplated by its business plan; (13) Cepton’s ability to execute
its business plans and strategy; (14) the failure to satisfy the
conditions to the consummation of the proposed business
combination, including the approval of the proposed business
combination and definitive agreements for the proposed business
combination by the stockholders of Growth Capital; and (15) the
occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could
give rise to the termination of the proposed business combination.
If any of these risks materialize or any of Growth Capital’s or
Cepton’s assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ
materially from the results implied by these forward-looking
statements. Cepton does not undertake to publicly update or revise
its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. See “Risk Considerations”
in the investor presentation, which will be provided in a Current
Report on Form 8-K to be filed by Growth Capital with the SEC and
available at www.sec.gov.
No Offer or Solicitation
This press release shall not constitute a solicitation of a
proxy, consent, or authorization with respect to any securities or
in respect of the proposed business combination. This press release
shall also not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of
an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of
securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer,
solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or
qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.
No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a
prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210805006223/en/
Cepton Contacts Media: Faithy Li, media@cepton.com
Investors: InvestorRelations@cepton.com
Growth Capital Contact Email: inquiries@gcacorp.com
Website: www.gcacorp.com
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