Company: LIDRW
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001437749-25-004906
Chunk: 83

Company: AEye, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-24
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 83
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 component costs, personnel costs, contract manufacturing costs, overhead costs, and product features. Our gross margins have in the past and may continue to be negatively impacted by inventory write-downs. As an example, in 2023, we recorded inventory write-downs of $7,005 relating to the transition to certain higher grade components in our automotive products as well as the winding down of our legacy product line for the Non-Automotive market. In the future, we expect to generate attractive gross margins from licensing our lidar technology and software to our Tier 1 partners in the Automotive market. We also anticipate being able to leverage on our foundation in the Automotive market to move to other markets.

To date, our revenue has primarily been generated through development contracts with OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, as well as unit sales of our products to Non-Automotive customers. These development contracts primarily focus on customization of our proprietary 4SightTM product capabilities to our customers’ applications, typically involving software implementation to assist with sensor connection and control, customization of scan patterns, and enhancement of particular perception capabilities to meet specific customer needs. In general, development contracts that require more complex configurations have higher prices. We expect development contracts to remain a significant part of our business in the near-term, but represent a smaller share of our total revenue over time, as we increase our focus on technology licensing in the Automotive market and over time leverage the economies of scale we achieve to move into other markets including the Non-Automotive market.

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Investment and Innovation

Our proprietary adaptive, intelligent lidar technology delivers industry-leading performance, addressing the toughest challenges in achieving partial or full autonomy. Unlike traditional sensing systems that passively collect data, our active 4Sight™ Intelligent Sensing Platform employs principles from automated targeting systems and biomimicry to actively scan the environment, intelligently focusing on critical elements to enable safer, smarter, and faster decisions in complex scenarios.

In June 2024, we introduced Apollo, the first product in our 4Sight™ Flex family of next-generation lidar sensors. Apollo offers best-in-class range and resolution in a compact, power-efficient, and cost-effective form factor, making it ideal for both automotive and non-automotive applications. Apollo can be integrated behind the windshield, on the roof, or in the grille, allowing original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to implement essential safety features with minimal impact on vehicle design. This innovative sensor leverages our 4Sight™ Intelligent