Lidar provider AEye Inc. this week announced the completion of its merger with CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III, a special-purpose acquisition company or SPAC sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. The combined company will retain the AEye name and began trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “LIDR” on Aug. 18.
“AEye’s transition to the public markets marks a key milestone in our corporate journey, enabling us to accelerate adoption of our high-performance, intelligent lidar system and accelerate our mission to bring safe autonomy to the masses,” stated Blair LaCorte, CEO of AEye. “AEye is experiencing strong business momentum based on its partnership with Continental, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, as well as recently announced strategic partnerships with industry leaders such as Sanmina, NVIDIA, TuSimple, and others.”
AEye provides sensors for autonomous systems
Founded in 2013, AEye said it provides adaptive lidar for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and robotic vision applications. The Dublin, Calif.-based company's iDAR (Intelligent Detection and Ranging) system uses biomimicry and principles from automated targeting applications used by the military to scan the environment.
iDAR focuses “on what matters most, enabling faster, more accurate, and more reliable perception,” claimed AEye. It added that iDAR is the only software-configurable lidar with integrated deterministic artificial intelligence, delivering industry-leading performance. The system has been independently verified to have significant range, resolution, and speed performance advantages, according to the company.
AEye said its technology, as well as its “capital-light business model designed to leverage the industry’s existing value chain to deliver high-margins,” position it for success. The company said it has marquee customers and partnerships that should enable global automotive-grade production at scale.
In addition, AEye said its sensor can serve multiple markets, including automotive, industrial, and mobility, with the same platform and supply chain.
About Cantor Fitzgerald
CF III stockholders approved the business combination with AEye at a special meeting on Aug. 12. The SPAC did not disclose terms of the deal.
CF III was sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald, a global financial services group with more than 70 years of experience and over 12,000 employees. Cantor Fitzgerald is an investment bank serving more than 5,000 institutional clients around the world. It operates in fixed-income and equity capital markets, investment banking, prime brokerage, and commercial real estate and for its global distribution platform.
Cantor Fitzgerald is one of the 24 primary dealers authorized to transact business with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Cantor Fitzgerald is a leading SPAC sponsor, having completed multiple initial public offerings and announced multiple business combinations through its CF Acquisition platform.
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