Cepton, Inc.

Good day and welcome to the Septon, Inc. First Quarter 2024 Business Update and Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Dennis Cheng, Interim Chief Financial Officer. Dennis, please go ahead.

Thank you, and welcome to SEPTOM's first quarter 2024 earnings call and business update. With me today are Jim Pei, co-founder and chief executive officer, and Mitch Hortini, 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 U.S. GAAP. 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 expectations and are subject to the safe harbor statements relating to forward-looking statements contained in our earnings release. and the presentation 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 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We're 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 presentation slides that accompany this call as well as the webcast replay of this call at www.investors.septum.com. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Jun.

Thank you, Dennis, and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining SEPTOM's first quarter 2024 earnings call. We will provide a business update and review our first quarter financial results with you. First, an update on our latest long-range LiDAR product, Septon Ultra. As part of our ongoing efforts to advance automotive safety and efficiency through cutting-edge technology, I'm pleased to provide an exciting update on our Ultra LiDAR system. We have successfully advanced the Ultra from its initial concept to the B sample stage much quicker than anticipated. and the performance of the Ultra-B samples has exceeded our expectations. This rapid progression is a testament to our robust R&D capabilities and deep technical expertise, and achieving this key development milestone underscores our commitment to innovation and market leadership. We have demonstrated the Ultra's capabilities to OEMs across the three continents. In Japan, the United States, and Europe. These live demonstrations not only validated our LiDAR system's performance under various conditions, but also showcased its versatility and robustness in real-world environments. The feedback from these global showcases has been overwhelmingly positive, affirming the Altra's potential to transform automotive safety standards and its readiness for broader commercial deployment. Our ultra product features our proprietary imaging technology, Magnosteer, which allows for dynamic field of view, region of interest adjustment, and high resolution scanning. This technology has performed above expectations, offering enhanced adaptability and higher data fidelity in the B samples. The advancements in our ultra-LIDAR system mark a pivotal step forward in our mission to drive widespread adoption of LIDAR technology in automotive applications. As we continue to push the boundaries of what's possible, we remain focused on delivering products that not only meet but also exceed the rigorous demands of the automotive industry. I've always stated that technology advancements do not create value without commercial traction. Today, I'm proud to announce that we have secured a series production project with a global OEM in collaboration with Coetel to supply our near range LiDAR sensors. This multi-year OEM project underscores our technology competitiveness and the trust that industry leaders place in our solutions. To jumpstart this project, SAPTOM has entered into a significant engineering services contract with Coetel, which includes $10 million in fees for work to be performed in the second quarter of 2024. This contract is designed to support the execution of the new OEM program and accelerate product development, ensuring that we meet and exceed the specific needs of our automotive customers. We expect to have positive cash flow for the three months ended Q2 2024, a significant achievement, not only for our company, but also within the LiDAR industry. With that, I'll turn it over to Mish for more details on our efforts with customer programs.