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spk08: Good day, my name is Vaishnavi and I will be your conference operator. I would like to welcome everyone to ABA Technologies' first quarter 2022 learnings conference call. During the opening remarks, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Should you need assistance, please signal a conference specialist by pressing the star key followed by zero. Following the opening remarks, we will conduct a question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then one on a touchtone phone To withdraw your question, please press star, then two. As a reminder, today's conference call is being recorded and simultaneously webcast. I would now like to turn the call over to Andrew Fung, Director of Investor Relations. Andrew, please go ahead.
spk03: Thank you, and welcome everyone to ARED's first quarter 2022 earnings conference call. Joining on the call today are Suresh Salahian, ARED's co-founder and CEO, and Saurabh Sinha, ARED's CFO. Ahead of this call we issued our first quarter press release and presentation, which we will refer to today and can be found on our investor relations website at investors.ava.com. Please note that on this call we will be making forward-looking statements based on current expectations and assumptions, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements reflect our views only as of today. and should not be relied upon as representative of our views as of any subsequent date. These statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. For further discussion of the material risks and other important factors that could affect our financial results, please refer to our filings with the SEC, including our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31st, 2021. In addition, during today's call, we will discuss non-GAAP financial measures, which we believe are useful as supplemental measures of AMIS performance. These non-GAAP measures should be considered in addition to and not as a substitute for or in isolation from GAAP results. The webcast replay of this call will be available on our company website under the Investor Relations link. And with that, I will turn the call over to Suresh.
spk06: Thank you, Andrew, and good afternoon, everyone. We are off to a strong start in 2022 and continue to execute on our plan. In Q1, we achieved key milestones that moved us towards Ares II deployment and continue to broaden our commercial reach. I am excited to highlight a few of our accomplishments, which are summarized on slide five. First, we are on track for first deliveries of Ares II in late Q2. Initial units have been manufactured with initial systems and performance validation successfully completed. Second, we are building strong momentum in industrial automation. We continue to make progress on our first industrial precision product with Nikon, while also receiving significant inbound interest for additional industrial automation sensing applications, which are uniquely achievable with AVA's FMCW LiDAR on-chip technology due to superior precision. A number of developments will enable us to accelerate adoption of our unique 40 LIDAR technology. This includes being the first and only FMCW LIDAR on NVIDIA's DRIVE autonomous vehicle platform. We also continue to strengthen our team across the board, including new leadership in sales to help accelerate our go-to-market plans. Together with this, we also announced the opening of AVA's China office as we look to increase our global presence and response to the growing market demand for 4D LIDAR across a wide variety of perception applications. And fourth, the $415 million in cash at the end of Q1 reflects our disciplined approach to capital allocation and continues to position AVA well to execute on our plan to bring 4D LIDAR to mass scale. Moving to slide seven, I would like to provide more color on key business developments over the past quarter. First on ARIES II. We completed a number of important milestones in Q1 that move us meaningfully closer to our target to start delivery to customers in late Q2. This includes bringing the system manufacturing line online with initial units manufactured. We successfully completed the initial system and performance validation, and initial reliability tests on Ares II surpassed Ares I, including for temperature and ingress protection. The market reception following the unveiling of Ares II has been very encouraging. We continue to see growing consensus among automotive and non-auto customers that SNCW 40 LiDAR, with a differentiated ability to instantly measure, not infer, velocity, enables faster detection at higher confidence levels to safely bring higher levels of autonomy to a variety of perception applications, including automotive and industrial markets. ARES II incorporates the world's first 4D LiDAR on-chip solution that delivers direct velocity measurement for every pixel, together with 500 meters of range, camera-level resolution, and is designed for automotive-grade reliability. As we expand on our commercial engagements and begin deliveries of ARES II units, we expect to meet the demand for our core perception platform, leveraging our LiDAR on-chip module as well as the ARES II product. In terms of the work that remains ahead, we are focused on the bring-up of the automated assembly for our LiDAR-on-chip module over the next few months in preparation for our scale deployments and to meet the strong demand for ARIES 2. Moving to slide 9, as we announced earlier, AVA is now the first and only FMCW 40 LiDAR on NVIDIA's drive platform, which we believe will help to continue expanding our momentum in automotive. NVIDIA Drive is an end-to-end platform that enables OEMs and automotive players to develop and validate safe self-driving technology at scale. Based on our engagements with OEMs, they are increasingly looking to implement FMCW LiDAR into their next-generation programs. AVA's integration on the NVIDIA Drive platform brings our unique 4D perception to a broader group of automotive customers. And with OEM's ability to build their autonomy stack using existing NVIDIA development and software tools, we believe this will enable OEMs to accelerate the adoption of AVOS FMCW technology. Now, switching gears to non-automotive on Flight 10. We are proud to have NASA use AVOS 4D LiDAR to create a mobile terrain mapping and navigation system to support the next generation of lunar and planetary exploration. This system will help astronauts and rovers navigate and map the lunar surface, leveraging a proprietary capability that uniquely solves critical challenges on the moon. One of those key challenges is navigation in a GPS-free environment. Because AVA's FMCW technology can directly measure instant velocity for every pixel, it can also estimate its own motion, effectively serving as an independent navigation solution that provides precise positioning, even in environments where GPS is unavailable or unreliable, such as in tunnels or parking garages for automated vehicles, or in the case on the surface of the moon, where it's completely unavailable. In addition, AVOS FMCW technology is immune to optical interference, which is particularly needed on the surface of the moon, where the sun never appears more than three degrees above the horizon in certain regions, such as the lunar south pole. This exposes cameras and legacy LIDAR sensors to significant optical interference that prevents their effective use for sensing and perception. This region of the moon also has areas that are permanently shadowed or have long, persistent shadows that prohibit photogrammetry-based navigation. ABA's immunity to optical interference from the sun and ability to operate in the dark will allow astronauts and rovers to safely explore and map the lunar surface anytime, day or night. These are also critical capabilities for enabling the next generation of autonomous vehicles which need to operate safely during period of optical interference with the sun directly shining onto the sensors. We have always believed in the potential for FMCW on-chip technology to be a platform that can enable the next wave of perception for a wide range of applications beyond automotive. Central to our technology is a common core LiDAR chip module that is the same architecture we use in the ARIES platform for automotive, but tuned to deliver different performance requirements for different use cases. And NASA provides a glimpse of the broad use cases and the significant opportunities for AVA's perception platform. Let's move to slide 11, which highlights our progress in industrial automation, where there is growing demand across a wide range of applications to utilize our LiROM chip module. In particular, our ability to achieve high precision in a small chip module form factor unlocks a number of unique new opportunities, such as applications requiring precise measurement of a centimeter or less, which to our knowledge cannot be achieved with current 3D time-of-flight LiDAR solutions. To meet this growing demand and enable faster adoption, we are developing a common platform for industrial automation based on the same LiDAR-on-chip architecture used for automotive applications. And building off of the micron level precision already achieved last year, we are making good progress and target completing our LiDAR-on-chip module development for industrial automation by Q4 of this year. This timeline also aligns with our collaboration with Nikon, where we remain on track for our first product launch in 2024. Our planned common platform for industrial automation is an example of how our strategic decision announced last quarter to accelerate our shift from NREs towards scale deployment of common platforms for commercial programs is enabling us to pursue opportunities with a higher level of efficiency and agility. Now to our key objectives for 2022, which are highlighted on slide 13. We have made good progress so far this year and believe we are well positioned to achieve our key objectives for 2022. I would like to share a bit more on each one. First, on areas through deployment and qualification with customers. As mentioned earlier, we continue our focus on manufacturing and supply chain, which includes the bring up of automated assembly equipment for our LIDAR on chip module. in order to keep us on schedule for deliveries to begin in late Q2. And given the strong demand for ARIES II, we are laser-focused on our preparation to achieve this milestone. Second, on converting two additional programs towards production, we continue to progress on a number of engagements for multiple applications, including passenger vehicle, trucking, and mobility, as well as non-automotive, such as industrial automation. We believe we are on track to win programs in both automotive and non-automotive this year and see opportunity to further expand our commercial momentum as we begin Ares II and LiDAR chip module deployment. Third, on accelerating the release of our first non-automotive application. We continue to progress on our first industrial precision product with Nikon and remain confident in achieving our accelerated 2024 timeline for production launch. Beyond that, inbound interest continues to grow, and we are developing a common perception platform that utilizes our core rider-on-chip module to meet demand and accelerate adoption in the growing industrial automation market. And fourth, on preparing the supply chain and processes for commercial deployments, we continue to work closely with our supply chain partners to prepare for commercial deployment. Efforts also continue on working towards certification in automotive space and information security. And with that, I will turn the call over to Saroj to discuss the financials.
spk01: Thank you, Saroj, and good afternoon, everyone. Let's turn to slide 15, which summarizes our first quarter financial results. Revenue in the first quarter was $1.1 million, in line with our expectations. During the quarter, we continued to make good progress with our customers on their development milestones ahead of Ares II deployment. Non-GAAP operating loss in the first quarter was $28.3 million, which primarily reflects our R&D expenses related to product development. Our gross cash use, defined as operating cash flow less capex, was $27.8 million for the first quarter. As such, we ended the quarter with a strong $414.5 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. Our weighted average shares outstanding in the first quarter was $216 million. In a nutshell, Q1 was consistent with our plan. Based on our progress so far and strong balance sheet, we believe we are well positioned to accomplish our 2022 objectives and execute on our mission. With that, I'll turn the call over to Soroosh for closing remarks.
spk06: Thank you, Saurabh. Before we start with Q&A, I would like to thank the AVA team again for their contributions that enabled us to continue making significant progress on our milestones this quarter. I would also like to express appreciation to all of our stakeholders for their continued support. Since introducing ARIES II earlier this year, it's been incredibly exciting to see the growing commercial momentum to utilize AVA's unique 40-liter on-chip technology. We are on track for first deliveries of Ares II in late Q2 and look forward to supporting our partners on the path to production and realizing AVA's mission to enable perception for everything. Thank you everyone for your time today.
spk09: Now let's open up the line for questions. Thank you.
spk08: We will now begin the question and answer session. To ask a question, you may press star then 1 on your touch-tone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, please pick up your handset before pressing the keys. If at any time your question has been addressed and you would like to withdraw your question, please press star then 2. In the interest of time, please limit yourself to one question. At this time, we will pause momentarily to assemble our roster. Our first question comes from Antoine Chkaiben with Newstreet Research. Please go ahead.
spk04: Hello. Thanks for the question. You highlighted the integration of AVS4G LiDAR and the NVIDIA Drive autonomous vehicle platform. Could you provide a bit of color on NVIDIA's validation process? Which dimensions were most important to them beyond just 4G? And maybe as a quick follow-up, looking back at the last 12 months, Would you say autonomy adoption timeline has accelerated or slowed? Thank you.
spk06: Yeah, sure. Thanks, Ansel, for the question. Happy to answer. So, first of all, as I mentioned, as you know, obviously, NVIDIA is a leader in bringing new technology to the market. I think being the first and the only FMCW platform on the NVIDIA drive is important. And I think a lot of the process so far has been around driven by the fact of our unique differentiation from a performance standpoint, in addition to, of course, the instant velocity dimension that we have talked about before, as well as some of the new features that we announced as part of the ARIES 2 launch, including ultra-resolution, which I think have been important in the validation process and the work that we're doing with them. So, of course, work there continues, and we hope that this partnership continues to expand our momentum and engagements with OEMs due to the fact that NVIDIA's platform is an end-to-end platform, and already they have customers both in automotive, passenger, and commercial vehicle space. And to your follow-up question on general kind of adoption timelines and if that's accelerated or slowed down, I think what I can say is since our announcement, of course, of the Ares II, we are seeing a growing interest across the board, both in automotive and not in automotive. for adoption of new technologies. And especially, I think, you know, LIDAR being a key factor of that is what we are seeing.
spk09: Yes, thanks.
spk08: Our next question comes from Sam Peterman with Craig Halen Capital Group. Please go ahead.
spk02: Hi, guys. Thanks for taking my question. I wanted to ask one on trucking. Sounds like you're seeing progress with just your different engagements there. I did want to ask TuSimple, who you guys have talked about working with closely in the past. They mentioned on their earnings call they've kind of moved their production timeline for commercial launch back a year from 24 to 25. They cited a couple supply chain factors as kind of not being ready and that being part of the reason and cited the LIDAR industry as a whole couple times you guys are you know talking about shipping areas to this year and presumably ready for commercial deployment and you know within that time frame so I guess my question is you know how does your relationship stand with too simple and just what does that push out say about your timeline for automotive commercial readiness
spk06: Yeah, sure. Thanks for the question. So first of all, you know, we're working on auto-renews with our areas too, and we will have that. So we feel confident with that. And on TuSimple specifically, you know, we continue to work with them closely. I think we are progressing well. You know, as a matter of fact, the past few months, of course, as you're aware, we supported them on their Driver Out program, enabling TuSimple to be the first company in this space to provide a fully driver-out autonomous truck in the world using AVA LiDAR technology. And so far, of course, in addition to that, they're using our LiDAR as the only long-range LiDAR on their on-road trucks. And these are actually previous generation technology that we have been working with them for quite some time on. And to your other point, we plan to begin scale deployment with ARIES II towards the end of this year, including with PUS and others. Overall, we feel confident about some of the adoption rate of commercial vehicle players in this space.
spk02: Thank you, Chris.
spk08: The next question comes from Suji De Silva with Rock Capital. Please go ahead.
spk05: Hi, Sarush. Hi, Sarab. Congratulations on the progress here. So I'm curious. You just opened an office in the Asia region. You already had traction at Denso, but I'm curious about the China market. Is the competitive landscape and the opportunity there different in some ways? Can you talk about the opportunity for you there? And perhaps does the NVIDIA partnership analysis, does that give you some opportunity to penetrate that market? Any color versus your current traction, which seems to be outside of China, would be very helpful to understand. Thanks.
spk06: Sure, Suji. So first of all, as you mentioned, APAC is absolutely an important region for us. We're pretty excited about expanding and opening up our office there, including China. And so first of all, we already have partners there, and we're seeing growing interest to really use next-gen technology. And I think that's where, for Ava, this becomes interesting, because at the end of the day, if you also look at it, OEMs and customers in general, automotive specifically, but also non-automotive, are looking to differentiate from the competition. And if you look at it today, FMCW technology simply doesn't exist really in APAC at production level. So we're looking forward to bring that up to the market and continue to establish relationships and partnerships there. Obviously, non-auto, we're already partnered with Nikon and we're well on track there and expect to, for the industrial automation market in general as well, to hit that 2024 production timeline. But I think one thing I also want to highlight is with the fact that we're building this one LiDAR chip platform, really a perception platform, and we are able to go down to sensing measurement capabilities that are below a centimeter, providing really a unique opportunity for AVA because currently we see a growing demand and an existing business opportunity for inspection, especially in volume manufacturing for a bunch of different variety of applications. And those are either done by camera type solutions that are not very robust or with laser based solutions cannot really achieve under a centimeter. So now that we are going after that, perception platform with under a centimeter, we see this as an opportunity to be unique for AVA because we believe only FMCW can achieve that in a robust way. And so we expect that also to continue to grow beyond some of the automotive applications in the APAC region as well.
spk09: Okay. Very interesting. Thanks, guys.
spk08: As a reminder, if you have a question, please press star, then you want to be joined into the queue. The next question comes from Colin Rush with Oppenheimer. Please go ahead.
spk07: Thanks so much, guys. You know, some of our checks are pointing to reliability of the 4D LiDAR in test cases actually being a bit better than expected. Can you guys talk a little bit about the feedback that you're getting from your customers as they go through testing with these samples?
spk06: Yeah, sure, Colin. So, you know, I think really the proof is in the pudding. You know, obviously with the systems we have on the road today are based on the A samples with ARIES 2, our B sample. You know, we're on track and looking to start deliveries really at the end of this quarter. And, you know, I think as a clear example, Even one of our earlier A-samples from a few years ago continue to be used for actual development and autonomous capability, including some commercial deployments with our partners. And this includes on the commercial vehicle side. We were talking about that with TuSimple and others that continue to use that technology. Of course, those were A-samples, and they were not designed for mass manufacturing. But with B-sample, we're continuing to improve the reliability, and that's really one of the key factors to go after is to get that maturization and the automotive gradiness. I think this is the last piece that we're working on to follow in place. We're laser focused on that. It's critical for us to deliver on our first samples at the end of this quarter and from there working on the supply base to scale up our volumes in the second half of the year. But, you know, with ARIS II, to answer your direct question, we also already see the reliability to be improved, and as I mentioned on the call, especially on temperature in the U.S., which has been, you know, a challenge for any technology, but especially on conventional FMCW. So that's what we just mentioned.
spk07: Okay. That's super helpful. And then, you know, a lot of these systems are not really prepared to use the velocity data that you guys can provide. You know, and obviously you guys have been doing some development around some of the software that you can supplement some of those other efforts. Can you talk a little bit about progress that you've got going with that velocity data and then, you know, translating that into, you know, streamlined decision-making for some of your customers?
spk06: Yeah, I think it really was interesting actually with any new capabilities that actually the value is different across different applications, right? And that's what's, you know, we're just scratching the surface here on what the new dimension can do. As I've always mentioned, it's like when you go from black and white, you know, cameras to color, you know, the color information is a whole new world of information, and there's so much, you know, possibility with it. So with velocity, we have a similar situation here. In automotive specifically, we see the velocity points simply bringing high level of confidence for automakers automation and level of autonomy, right? Being able to know something that's dynamic is a super critical topic and challenge for any moving vehicle. And with our technology, those vehicles and customers can do that faster, which really enables a faster reaction time and being able to make decisions quicker. On non-automotive, there's a number of things that come into play, of course. But I'm not going to go into all the details of that, but at a high level, even for similar topics where you want to be able to provide a specific safety mechanism to protect, for example, humans in the industrial application, or being able to see how things are moving in a warehouse to be able to make certain decisions based off of that. All of that is actually coming into play with the velocity dimension. As our customers continue to use it, we continue to find new examples and be able to leverage them across applications. We continue to focus our efforts on also building capability on top of the velocity dimension to be able to showcase that to customers and help them solve challenges that they haven't really been able to do so before.
spk08: Our next question comes from Spencer Rapoport with Morgan Stanley. Please go ahead.
spk00: Hi, great. Thanks for taking the question. So it's great to hear about the momentum in industrial automation and other areas like 3D mapping with that recent NASA announcement and robotics like you just mentioned. But I'm just wondering if you could give us a relative breakdown of how much of your engagement pipeline is currently automotive-related versus non-automotive, either on a dollar opportunity level or simply around the number of conversations that are happening? Thanks.
spk06: Yeah, sure. So we're not providing specifics on breakdown of customer opportunities. What I can tell you is that from a general interest, as we see in the space, we're seeing growth in demand both in automotive and non-automotive, especially because the light on our chips module as a platform, we're designing them in a way that can be applied to multiple applications. I think, as I mentioned, we're engaged in multiple opportunities currently in the span of passenger car, trucking, and mobility on the automotive side, as well as on industrial automation, really, which includes robotics and on the inspection side. And with those, we expect to be on track, and we feel confident with the two wins we talked about, for this year. And of course, as we progress and are able to share more, disclose more about those specific opportunities, we will do so in the near future.
spk09: Great. Thank you.
spk08: This concludes the question and answer session. The conference has also now concluded. Thank you for attending today's presentation. We may now disconnect.
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