as it is.

81 views Sep 25, 2026

Matt Fisch, CEO of AEye, discusses the selection of AEye’s Apollo lidar for Lunar Outpost’s Pegasus lunar terrain vehicle and the company’s work with SwiftstrikeAI to improve detection of smaller, faster drone threats.

1. CEO just finished a two-week tour of visiting a number of OEMs across the globe. A good chunk of those are from the automotive space: that means mid Sep(?)
2. Apollo becomes the first non-reference lidar in NVIDIA's portfolio to be certified on their latest hardware [Thor]

nothing else is new or anything relevant to a retail investor - other than some details on how they tested/are testing Apollo sensors for the lunar mission. The main point of CEO showed in this interview is that the lunar mission solidified ["take our technology to the moon is a definite proof point of the robustness and long-term survivability of our technology" - CEO's own words*] Aeye Apollo's ruggedness and potentially long-life that required by automotive OEMs. - those trucks/luxury cars will run over 10 years - and so does the parts- like lidar sensors.

Which is super good - indicating coming OEM nominations - particularly from luxury brands: my readings out of this show.

Abu Dhabi, 28 September 2026: Parallel Systems, (“Parallel”) the world’s leading autonomous freight rail company and Agility’s corporate venture arm today announced a strategic collaboration to develop, commercialise, finance and deploy autonomous rail freight systems across the GCC, wider EMEA region and other international markets. Agility is a global owner, operator and long-term investor in logistics, transportation and strategic infrastructure.

The collaboration will combine Parallel’s autonomous rail platform with Agility’s market access, logistics expertise, infrastructure development capabilities, relationships with regional stakeholders and reach across the freight and supply chain ecosystem.

Parallel’s system uses autonomous, battery-electric vehicles that operate on existing rail infrastructure, self-sort and assemble into platoons, and integrate with rail control and business systems. The platform is designed to provide more flexible and frequent service on shorter, lower-density routes, including port shuttles, connections to inland logistics facilities, and city-to-city moves. Parallel’s vehicles can haul intermodal containers for up to 500 miles on a single charge, potentially reducing port congestion, container dwell times and short-haul truck movements.

“Parallel enables railroads to handle shorter, lower-density routes competitively, allowing shippers to use rail for short-haul freight that previously required trucks, making rail more competitive with trucking while reducing road congestion,” said Arun Gupta, Parallel Systems’ Executive Chairman. “Major railroads in the U.S. have begun adopting Parallel’s platform and we believe there is a significant opportunity to bring our revolutionary transportation system to the GCC and EMEA,” added Mr. Gupta.

“With major rail and port projects advancing across the GCC, now is the time to build technology into the region’s infrastructure and resilience plans,” said Tarek Sultan, Agility Chairman. “Digital systems and physical infrastructure must work together to create more connected, flexible and resilient supply chains. Autonomous rail could help unlock additional port capacity and improve container flows, from Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea gateways to major ports on the Gulf and Arabian Sea. As the GCC’s railway networks take shape, the region has an opportunity to future-proof these investments by incorporating autonomous, battery-electric technology with safety designed in from the outset.”

Under the collaboration, the parties will embark on a roadmap that addresses regional adaptation, testing, addressing regulatory approvals and all other protocols to enable Parallel to become fully operational in the region.

The parties will initially focus on identifying priority corridors and commercially viable opportunities where autonomous rail can strengthen regional freight connectivity.

About Parallel

Founded in 2020, Parallel Systems is the world’s first autonomous battery-electric rail system. The company is a U.S. based manufacturer and transportation technology innovator whose mission is to deliver a safer, more efficient and sustainable alternative to short-haul trucking. The company provides significant benefits, including: 1) enables railroads to grow by increasing their role in shorter-route transportation; 2) makes America’s busiest roadways safer for motorists by decongesting; 3) reduces the costs of shipping; 4) creates new industry jobs; 5) reduces pollution.

For more information, please visit www.moveparallel.com

About Agility

Agility is a multi-business operator and long-term investor in global and regional businesses. Its portfolio of diversified international assets includes the world’s largest aviation services company (Menzies Aviation); a global fuel logistics business (Tristar); a leading logistics parks developer and operator across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia (Agility Logistics Parks); and other businesses in digital logistics, e-commerce logistics, remote-site services, and public-sector logistics. Agility holds minority stakes in DSV, the world’s largest freight forwarder; Reem Mall, a mega-mall in Abu Dhabi; commercial real estate and supply chain companies in the GCC; and emerging technology companies in e-commerce enablement, energy transition, digital supply chain, and more.

Agility has a global footprint across six continents and 80+ countries, with a workforce of approximately 70,000 employees. It is publicly listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

https://agility.com/news/us-based-autonomous-freight-rail-company-parallel-systems-and-agility-enter-into-agreement-to-bring-platform-to-the-gcc-and-emea/

Website: www.agility.com
Twitter: x.com/agility
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/agility
Instagram: instagram.com/agility
YouTube: youtube.com/user/agilitycorp

Souce: https://www.truckinginfo.com/articles/qa-aeyes-andrew-nelson-on-lidars-role-in-autonomous-trucking - I will post the whole texts of interview below

March 13, 2023

Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/36769-watch-why-the-trucking-industry-is-embracing-sensing-technology

https://preview.redd.it/81qupeizm8sh1.png?width=1394&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab231c172f8f05868631cf9f0298faaf08f3882a

AN was overlapped with the new team until Apr 2024.

AJ aj5434

16h

LIDR should apply for the Blue UAS certification. It will take some time and significant changes to its existing supply chain but will generate meaningful business from defense customers.

September 16, 2026

PDF Version

Collaboration with Swedish defense technology company extends AEye’s software-defined lidar into the fast-growing counter-drone market, building on the Company’s expanding defense vertical

PLEASANTON, Calif. & STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 16, 2026-- AEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIDR), a global leader in software-defined, high-performance lidar solutions, and AB Swiftstrike AI, a Swedish defense technology company building autonomous and scalable defense systems for Counter-Unmanned Aircraft System (“counter-UAS”) and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), today announced that they will cooperate on the development and integration of AEye’s ultra-long-range lidar, into Swiftstrike’s C-UAS systems. The collaboration pairs Swiftstrike’s autonomous, multi-sensor, kinetic counter-UAS platform with AEye’s STRATOS™ lidar sensor as an ultra-long-range detection layer, with the goal of providing defense and security customers earlier, more reliable detection of small drone threats.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260916563879/en/

“You cannot defeat what you cannot see, and drones are getting harder to spot every year,” said Matt Fisch, Chairman and CEO of AEye. “STRATOS™ was built to detect the smallest objects at very long ranges, and that is exactly what counter-UAS demands: resolve a small, low-signature airframe at distance, in three dimensions, early enough to decide and act. Swiftstrike brings a modular, counter-UAS platform and the autonomy stack to turn that detection into a decision. Together we have an opportunity to help counter-UAS keep pace with drone technology instead of chasing it.”

“Our customers face continuously evolving drone threats,” said Karl Murray, Swiftstrike CEO. “Adding AEye’s ultra-long-range, software-defined lidar to our sensing layer extends the range at which we can detect and classify small aerial targets, while preserving the modular, open architecture our customers require.”

Counter-UAS Market and Threat Landscape

This collaboration extends AEye’s position in the global counter-UAS market. Fortune Business Insights projects this market to grow from approximately $14.4 billion in 2026 to approximately $55.3 billion by 2034.

Drones used against military, government, and critical-infrastructure targets are getting smaller, cheaper, and more autonomous. A growing share flies without a live radio link, which limits the effectiveness of the radio-frequency detection that many counter-drone systems rely on today. This evolution of UAS is pushing the industry toward detection methods, like lidar, that don’t depend on picking up a drone’s radio signal, and toward systems that can spot a small aircraft from farther away and with enough precision to act on it. AEye and Swiftstrike believe pairing long-range lidar detection with Swiftstrike’s counter-UAS platform and autonomy software addresses that gap.

STRATOS™ Advantage

STRATOS™ is AEye’s third-generation lidar sensor and is designed to detect objects at up to 1.5 kilometers with more than twice the resolution of AEye’s existing Apollo™ sensor, in a package not much larger than a smartphone. In practical terms, that combination of range and resolution is what allows STRATOS™ to pick out a small drone at a distance where other sensors may only be able to indicate that something is there, providing the kind of precise, three-dimensional track – distance, height, and speed – that helps an operator confirm a real threat and decide how to respond.

About AEye, Inc.

AEye offers a suite of unique software-defined lidar solutions that address a wide range of real-world needs including advanced driver-assistance, vehicle autonomy, smart infrastructure, security, defense, and logistics applications. AEye’s flagship product, Apollo™, has been widely recognized for its small form factor and its ability to detect objects at up to one kilometer. In addition to Apollo™, AEye also offers STRATOS™ with the ability to detect objects at up to one-and-a-half kilometers as well as a full-stack solution through its OPTIS™ platform. OPTIS™ provides a complete system that captures a high-resolution 3D image of the world, interprets it, and provides direction to act upon what it sees in real time.

About Swiftstrike

Swiftstrike AI is a Swedish defense technology company that develops portable, autonomous and modular counter-drone (C-UAS) and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) systems. Swiftstrike’s C-UAS systems detect, track, and neutralize small and medium-sized drones using multimodal sensors and kinetic effectors at a very low cost per engagement. Swiftstrike AI works with defense organizations, system integrators, and partner companies across NATO and allied nations.

Yes—Swiftstrike appears to be AEye’s first press release announcing a named development and integration partner specifically for STRATOS. I found no earlier equivalent in AEye’s release archive. AEye press releases

The distinction is clearer in the timeline:

The January release was a product introduction; Swiftstrike provides a specific partnership through which STRATOS could reach deployment. January announcement, Swiftstrike announcement

That gives this PR additional significance: it is an identifiable step toward commercialization for AEye’s newer sensor, beyond the ongoing Apollo programs.

The precise description would be: “STRATOS’s first publicly announced named integration partnership that I could identify.” Calling it the first STRATOS sale or production contract would go beyond what the release discloses.

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Second PR for Customer Announcement -after Q2

at this after market price - thank me later. 1.14/sh

Read what AI revealed about today's filing and news reports (Benzinga):

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Yes, —the Benzinga headline and excerpt you pasted are factually correct. However, they omit the fact that this replaces an existing ATM program, which materially affects how readers may interpret the news.

The crucial sentence Benzinga leaves out of the excerpt appears shortly afterward in that same prospectus:

>“Immediately prior to, and in connection with, our entry into the sales agreement, we terminated the prior sales agreement.”

Source: September 15 prospectus

That omission matters because the old ATM already had $54.588 million remaining as of June 30, and the old shelf was scheduled to expire September 26. The company had disclosed its replacement planning before this announcement. Source: Q2 10-Q

A more informative headline would be:

“AEye Replaces Existing ATM Agreement With New Program Allowing Up to $50 Million in Stock Sales Through A.G.P.”

My verdict: accurate reporting, incomplete context. It does not report a completed $50 million sale, and readers should not interpret it as $50 million of additional capacity stacked on top of the previous ATM.

On September 15, 2026, AEye, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an At Market Issuance Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners (“A.G.P.”). In accordance with the terms of the Sales Agreement, the Company may offer and sell from time to time through A.G.P., acting as sales agent, the Company’s common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $50,000,000 (the “Placement Shares”). The Placement Shares will be issued pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-296038). The Company filed a prospectus supplement dated September 15, 2026, with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the offer and sale of the Placement Shares.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares to fund working capital and general corporate purposes to support its future growth, which may include research and development, expansion of its commercial and business development activities, including in the aerospace and defense and infrastructure markets, capital expenditures, and general and administrative expenses.

Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the Sales Agreement, the Company will set the parameters for the sale of shares, including the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one trading day and any minimum price below which sales may not be made. Sales of Placement Shares, if any, will be made by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at-the-market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on or through The Nasdaq Capital Market, the trading market for the Company’s common stock, sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange or otherwise, in negotiated transactions at market prices, and/or any other method permitted by law. The Company is under no obligation to sell any Placement Shares under the Sales Agreement and may at any time suspend offers and sales of Placement Shares under the Sales Agreement.

The Company will pay A.G.P. a cash commission rate up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sale of Placement Shares sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement. The Company will also reimburse A.G.P. for certain specified expenses in connection with this offering, including reasonable out-of-pocket costs and expenses, including legal fees and related expenses, in an amount not to exceed (a) $50,000 in connection with the execution and implementation of the Sales Agreement and (b) up to $5,000 per due diligence update session thereafter pursuant to the terms of the Sales Agreement, not to exceed $15,000 per fiscal year, in connection with any periodic due diligence review conducted by A.G.P. or its representatives in connection with the offering. In connection with the offering, Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC (“Craig-Hallum”) is acting as a financial advisor, for which the Company will pay Craig-Hallum advisory fees up to 1.0% of the gross proceeds from each sale of Placement Shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement.

The offering of the Placement Shares pursuant to the Sales Agreement will terminate upon the earliest of (i) the 36-month anniversary of the filing of the prospectus supplement registering the Placement Shares, (ii) the sale of all of the Placement Shares, or (iii) termination of the Sales Agreement as provided therein. The Company and A.G.P. may each terminate the Sales Agreement at any time upon 30 days’ prior notice.

The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Sales Agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit 1.1, and is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. The representations, warranties, and covenants contained in the Sales Agreement are made only for purposes of such agreement and as of the specific date, are solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement and may be subject to limitations agreed upon by the contracting parties. The legal opinion relating to the Placement Shares is filed as Exhibit 5.1 hereto.

This Current Report on Form 8-K shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any shares of common stock in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

On September 15, 2026, in connection with its entry into the Sales Agreement described in Item 1.01 above, the Company and A.G.P. mutually agreed to terminate, effective upon the execution of the Sales Agreement, the At Market Issuance Sales Agreement, dated September 12, 2024, between the Company and A.G.P., as amended (the “Prior Sales Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company was entitled to offer and sell shares of its common stock from time to time through A.G.P., acting as sales agent. The Company did not incur any early termination penalties in connection with the termination of the Prior Sales Agreement.

8K: https://investors.aeye.ai/sec-filings/sec-filing/8-k/0000947871-26-000868

Form 424B5: https://investors.aeye.ai/sec-filings/sec-filing/424b5/0000947871-26-000869

Confirmed O/S Now: 46.49M or roughly 46.5M.

Without any explanation - and I can't understand the intentions behind the sale neither:

https://investors.aeye.ai/sec-filings/sec-filing/144/0001950047-26-009328

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According to chatGPT: Hope we can get the corresponding Form 4 soon, including its transaction code and footnotes. If the sale occurred September 11, the normal two-business-day reporting deadline would be September 15. That should establish the executed amount, price, and remaining reported ownership, and may explain the circumstances. SEC reporting guidance"

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chatGPT: Under 2026 federal rules, employers can use 22% withholding for eligible separately identified supplemental wages. An executive’s actual marginal income-tax rate could be 35% or 37%. The mandatory withholding rate becomes 37% on supplemental wages exceeding $1 million during the calendar year; employers may also use an aggregate payroll method below that threshold. We do not know which method AEye used for Fisch. IRS Publication 15

For illustration, assuming an entire $100,000 stock-compensation payment falls in the 37% bracket:

This simplified example excludes state taxes, payroll taxes, and other withholding or payments.

The timing also fits a possible tax payment: Fisch’s proposed sale was dated September 11, shortly before the September 15, 2026 federal estimated-tax deadline. A roughly $10,147 sale could reasonably help fund a withholding shortfall. That timing is circumstantial evidence, however; his filing does not disclose the purpose. Form 144, IRS estimated-tax dates

His earlier share withholding therefore does not rule out a later tax-related sale. I would soften my earlier “mildly negative optics” assessment: the tax explanation is credible, and the filing alone provides insufficient evidence to interpret this small sale as reduced confidence in AEye.

[chatGPT now in AGI level???????]

Automakers to Congress: Ban Chinese connected vehicles

“China’s strategy to dominate global automotive manufacturing should be met with a national security policy response from the American government” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Alliance for Automotive Innovation today urged U.S. House and Senate leadership to enact a “permanent ban on the sale, import and manufacture of Chinese connected vehicles, hardware and software before the conclusion of the 119th Congress.”  

Alliance for Automotive Innovation president and CEO John Bozzella wrote to congressional leadership:

“Right now, Chinese automakers are dumping subsidized vehicles with connected software and hardware around the world. China is capturing market share in Europe, Australia, Southeast Asia, Mexico and South America with vehicles capable of collecting, processing and transmitting sensitive vehicle and consumer data to the Chinese Communist Party. 

“This hasn’t happened inside the U.S. yet, but given the scale and urgency of this threat, we urge you to enact a Chinese vehicle, software and hardware ban before adjourning this year and make this policy the law of the land. …

“Enacting a permanent ban on Chinese vehicles and high-risk hardware and software in the 119th Congress will send a clear and bipartisan message that China’s strategy to dominate global automotive manufacturing will be met with a national security policy response from the American government.”

Read the letter to Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Thune, Minority Leader Jeffries and Minority Leader Schumer HERE.

About Alliance for Automotive Innovation

From the manufacturers producing most vehicles sold in the U.S. to autonomous vehicle innovators to equipment suppliers, battery producers and semiconductor makers – Alliance for Automotive Innovation represents the full auto industry, a sector supporting 11 million American jobs and more than 5 percent of the economy. Active in Washington, D.C., and all 50 states, the association is committed to a cleaner, safer and smarter personal transportation future. www.autosinnovate.org

(e) On September 2, 2026, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of AEye, Inc. (the “Company”) approved a one-time award of 100,000 restricted stock units (the “RSU Award”) to Conor Tierney, the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, in recognition of Mr. Tierney’s contributions in connection with the Company’s previously announced commercial engagement with Lunar Outpost, Inc. and in building the Company’s commercial pipeline. The RSU Award was granted under, and is subject to the terms and conditions of, the Company’s 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Plan”) and the Company’s form of restricted stock unit award agreement under the Plan (the “Award Agreement”).

The RSU Award will vest in full on November 15, 2026, subject to Mr. Tierney’s continued service to the Company through such date. Each restricted stock unit that vests will be settled in one share of the Company’s common stock. The foregoing description of the RSU Award does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Plan and the form of Award Agreement, each of which has been previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

https://investors.aeye.ai/sec-filings/sec-filing/8-k/0001213900-26-098385

https://preview.redd.it/osdpegke4poh1.png?width=1672&format=png&auto=webp&s=3e8f262fbee978e5cc450013a07e9678cef0b4eb

[chatGPT plus "GPT-6 Astra Max" wrote:] The latest Rivian lidar photo gives me a reason to dial back confidence in the AEye postulation. Seyond’s Robin E1X looks like a candidate worth investigating.

Source: https://spectrum.ieee.org/rivian-self-driving Thanks Interesting-Ant-4435•for this info.

First, the date matters. The photo appears in the September 8 IEEE Spectrum article, but Getty’s original record dates it to December 10, 2025, inside Rivian’s Palo Alto hardware lab. We are looking at an older testing assembly, not evidence of a newly revealed production unit.

Comparing the published images, Robin E1X’s broad window and curved front housing look closer to this sensor than Apollo’s standard squared enclosure. However, the mounting details are not a convincing exact match. There is also no readable supplier name or part number. Calling it “confirmed Seyond” would get ahead of the evidence. Seyond product images, mechanical drawing on page 3.

One useful technical distinction: Robin E1X operates at 940 nm; Apollo operates at 1550 nm. Those are their published specifications. We cannot determine the Rivian unit’s wavelength from the window’s purple appearance. E1X specifications, Apollo specifications.

Seyond’s China exposure is another consideration. It lists a California headquarters, but its own disclosures identify substantial research and manufacturing operations in China. That creates a real question about long-term sourcing risk for a U.S. vehicle program. Seyond corporate profile.

Still, we should be precise about the rules. Commerce’s connected-vehicle regulation explicitly excluded lidar from its covered connectivity hardware definition. The proposed SAFE LiDAR Act would introduce broader restrictions, including limits on certain technology partnerships. We should not treat that proposal as an existing blanket ban on Chinese lidar in passenger cars. Commerce rule, SAFE LiDAR proposal.

Rivian’s comments also need to be read together. Scaringe discussed Chinese technology and manufacturing outside China in May. CFO Claire McDonough subsequently said there were no current plans to bring lidar in-house. Neither statement identifies the supplier or establishes a completed sourcing solution. Reuters interview, CFO clarification.

IEEE also reports R2 lidar integration in early 2027. That broadly fits the timing we have discussed, but a similar timeline cannot establish an AEye connection.

My position: AEye remains possible, but this comparison weakens my confidence in the Rivian angle. If the photographed sensor is verified as Seyond, we should give that evidence meaningful weight—even though a lab sensor does not establish the final production supplier.

Anyone with hands-on Robin E1X experience recognize the mounting details?

September 9, 2026

PDF Version

PLEASANTON, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 9, 2026-- AEye, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIDR), a global leader in software-defined, high-performance lidar solutions, today issued a letter to stockholders. The full text of the letter follows:

Dear Fellow Stockholders,

In the time since my last letter, AEye has experienced significant progress marked by accelerating commercial momentum and expansion into entirely new markets. Our commercial pipeline again has reached a record level, with more programs advancing from initial evaluations into paid deployments and repeat orders across key verticals. We also are benefiting from greater diversification of demand – spanning aerospace & defense, automotive, trucking, ITS, and now space mobility and sports analytics – as customers continue to validate Apollo™ in real-world conditions.

Key members of the management team and I retain major positions in AEye. Our success, like yours, is aligned with the Company’s – so I am especially pleased to share our most significant recent achievements below:

• Multi-Million-Dollar Contract Secured: Lunar Outpost has entered into a binding, multi-million-dollar financial commitment with AEye, ultimately backed by NASA funding, to deploy Apollo™ on its Pegasus Lunar Terrain Vehicle, which is designed to transport Artemis astronauts across the lunar surface. The lunar environment represents the most demanding proving ground any sensor can face, and this selection again highlights to the market how our robust, software-defined solution creates confidence in scenarios where the sensor must be adjusted for evolving mission parameters, even when it’s been launched into space and cannot be physically accessed.
• New Development Contract in Sports Analytics: Alive3D selected Apollo™ for next-generation sports analytics, extending our software-defined platform into an entirely new commercial category and reinforcing the breadth of applications our architecture can address as we build toward broader adoption.
• Commercial Leadership: We appointed Laura Wrisley as Chief Revenue Officer, bringing more than two decades of commercial leadership in lidar, data transport, and autonomous robots to scale our go-to-market execution and convert our growing pipeline into repeatable revenue.
• Defense Momentum: Defense remains our most active vertical, with engagements doubling quarter-over-quarter. Our lead defense customer placed its third consecutive paid order, and our partnership with SynTech continues to expand Apollo’s™ international reach.
• Automotive and Trucking Progress: We remain active in multiple OEM Level 3 and Level 4 evaluations and signed an MOU with MoveAWheeL to combine Apollo’s™ long-range detection with acoustic road-surface friction sensing, improving ADAS and autonomous performance in adverse weather.
• ITS Deployment: OPTIS™ continues to move into deployment, with our live smart intersection in the Bay Area remaining operational alongside multiple installations in and around Detroit.
• NVIDIA Ecosystem Validation: Apollo™ was validated on NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Thor™, positioning AEye as a sensor partner in the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion Ecosystem and reducing integration risk for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers building on the NVIDIA DRIVE platform.
• Record Commercial Engagement: Commercial activity reached its highest level in Company history, with 25 customers now taking revenue-generating shipments – a 19% increase since Q1 results – and engagements and quotes are up over 25% and approximately 40% quarter-over-quarter, respectively. Revenue grew approximately nine-fold year-over-year and roughly doubled sequentially, marking our fourth consecutive quarter of growth, with first-half 2026 revenue already exceeding full-year 2025.
• Strong Financial Position: We have a substantial cash position and virtually debt free balance sheet, which we believe provides ample resources for the next wave of customer conversions and beyond.

These achievements reflect a broader shift underway in our business: from paid evaluations toward recurring commercial agreements, and from a single revenue source toward multiple, including contract award and contract development revenue. We believe this transition, combined with our expanding pipeline, positions us to convert sustained commercial interest into durable revenue growth.

Looking Ahead

I am proud of how our team continues to convert technology leadership into commercial results, extending Apollo’s™ reach into new verticals while deepening engagement in our core markets. It has been exciting to see Lunar Outpost and Alive3D emerge as our first lead customers from this record pipeline after many months of joint development – this is new technology, and customer integration takes time. You can expect more commercial deals to materialize in the back half of this year, as well as more announcements about key engagements entering the pipeline, positioning us for continued revenue growth in 2027.

AEye sits at the center of the physical AI opportunity, a market Barclays sizes at up to $1 trillion by 2035, and our software-defined architecture allows us to meet the demands of that market without redesigning our hardware for every new application. Looking ahead, our priorities remain clear:

• Converting our record pipeline of engagements and quotes into revenue-generating customer relationships.
• Extending Apollo™, STRATOS™, and OPTIS™ into additional high-value verticals.
• Deepening automotive OEM engagement through Apollo’s™ unique software-defined, behind-the-windshield form factor.
• Scaling production responsibly through our capital-light manufacturing partnership with LITEON.
• Maintaining disciplined financial and operational execution.

AEye’s leadership team and Board remain focused on strategic execution and the long-term success of the Company. We are building a business designed to scale, grounded in our capital-light model, operational discipline, and products that deliver meaningful, real-world impact across an expanding set of industries. This expansion, from defense to sports analytics, validates the same underlying thesis driving every new vertical we enter: when performance and programmability matter most, Apollo™ wins.

Thank you for your continued confidence in AEye, and in our vision of building the sensing platform that powers the physical AI era.

Sincerely,
Matt Fisch
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

About AEye, Inc.

AEye offers a suite of unique software-defined lidar solutions that address a wide range of real-world needs including advanced driver-assistance, vehicle autonomy, smart infrastructure, security, defense, and logistics applications. AEye’s flagship product, Apollo™, has been widely recognized for its small form factor and its ability to detect objects at up to one kilometer. In addition to Apollo™, AEye also offers STRATOS™ with the ability to detect objects at up to one-and-a-half kilometers as well as a full-stack solution through its OPTIS™ platform. OPTIS™ provides a complete system that captures a high-resolution 3D image of the world, interprets it, and provides direction to act upon what it sees in real time.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this letter that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within .. [Read it below or following the link below]

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260909275349/en/

Investor Relations

AEye, Inc. Investor Relations
info@aeye.ai
925-400-4366

Keaton Olsen
lidrir@allianceadvisors.com

Media Relations

Alliance Advisors IR
Aayushi
media@allianceadvisors.com

Source: AEye, Inc.

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Lidar Applications Beyond Automotive: How Space Mobility Is Taking Physical AI to the Moon

For years, lidar has been synonymous with autonomous vehicles. Most conversations centered on helping cars navigate roads, detect obstacles, and improve safety. 

Those applications remain important, but they represent only a fraction of what is possible. As Physical AI expands into new industries, the same technology that helps a vehicle perceive a highway is being applied to defense platforms, rail corridors, airports, warehouses, and sports venues. 

Space mobility is the latest example, and it may be the most demanding one yet. 

AEye recently announced that its Apollo™ long-range lidar has been selected by Lunar Outpost for integration onto a crewed lunar terrain vehicle. It marks AEye’s entry into space mobility, and it raises an interesting question: what does perception have to look like when the environment is 384,000 kilometers away, there is no atmosphere, and no one can come fix the sensor if something goes wrong? 

Space Mobility Is Becoming a Physical AI Problem

Lunar exploration is no longer only about getting to the Moon. It is increasingly about operating there, repeatedly and safely, over long periods of time. 

That shift is driving demand for surface mobility: vehicles that can carry crews, transport cargo, prospect for resources, and prepare sites for permanent infrastructure. The lunar rover market is among the fastest-growing segments of the space economy, driven by sustained, multi-year government investment and increasing commercial activity. 

Vehicles operating at that tempo cannot depend on a human operator watching every meter of terrain. They need to perceive, interpret, and respond to the environment around them in real time. This is the essence of Physical AI. 

Unlike traditional AI, which processes digital information, Physical AI enables machines to understand and interact with the physical world. Before a lunar vehicle can choose a route, avoid a crater rim, or safely deliver a crew to a work site, it must first perceive what is actually in front of it. That makes perception foundational. 

Why the Lunar South Pole Is Difficult to See

The Moon’s South Pole is the focus of the next phase of human lunar exploration, and it presents lighting conditions unlike anything encountered in previous crewed missions. 

In the regions under consideration for landing, the Sun never climbs far above the horizon. Its highest possible elevation is roughly seven degrees. The result is permanent low-angle light: extremely long shadows, harsh glare, and deep shadowed areas immediately adjacent to brightly lit terrain. 

Human vision struggles in that regime. Crews have to see into near-total darkness while their eyes are adapted to brilliant sunlight, then back into that sunlight while still adapted to the dark. Camera-based systems face a related problem. They interpret a scene from brightness, contrast, and color, and that information becomes unreliable when a rock, a crater, or a slope sits inside a shadow that receives no scattered light at all. 

The Moon has no atmosphere to soften that transition. On Earth, air scatters sunlight and partially fills in shadows. On the Moon, a shadow can be effectively black, and the boundary between lit and unlit terrain can be abrupt. 

Lidar approaches the problem differently. Rather than inferring depth from appearance, it directly measures distance using laser pulses to generate a precise three-dimensional representation of the environment. It provides its own illumination, which means a shadowed boulder and a sunlit one are measured the same way. 

For a vehicle carrying astronauts across unmapped terrain, that distinction matters. 

Perception Where There Is No Second Chance

Lunar hardware operates under constraints that have no real equivalent on Earth. 

There is vacuum, which eliminates convective cooling. There are thermal extremes across the day-night cycle and between sunlight and shadow. There is constant vibration during launch and traverse. There is abrasive regolith dust. And critically, there is no possibility of field repair once the vehicle is on the surface. 

Those conditions shaped why Apollo™ was selected. Its solid-state design offers the ruggedness required to withstand the lunar vacuum, thermal extremes, and constant vibration. Its compact form factor delivers that capability without competing for the mass and volume budget every lunar vehicle has to manage, where every kilogram carries a launch cost. 

“The lunar environment represents the most demanding proving ground any sensor can face: no atmosphere, no margin for error, and no opportunity for in-mission repair,” said Matt Fisch, AEye’s Chairman and CEO. 

Three Functions Perception Has to Support

On a lunar vehicle, Apollo™ supports terrain perception, obstacle detection, and autonomous navigation. Each asks something slightly different of the sensor. 

Terrain perception is about understanding the surface itself: slope, roughness, and whether ground that looks traversable actually is. Loose regolith, small craters, and rock fields are hazards that depend as much on geometry as on appearance, and geometry is what a lidar point cloud measures directly. 

Obstacle detection is about what sits on top of that terrain, and about detecting it early enough to matter. The same principle that applies on a highway or a rail corridor applies here: greater range provides more time to react, whether the response comes from a driver, a remote operator, or the vehicle itself. 

Autonomous navigation ties the two together. A vehicle choosing its own path needs enough spatial understanding to identify where it can safely go, not just what is in front of it. On terrain that has never been driven and cannot be surveyed in advance at that resolution, that understanding has to be built in real time, on the move. 

Why Software-Defined Perception Matters

Traditional sensing systems are often optimized for a single application. Software-defined lidar changes that equation. 

Instead of requiring new hardware for every environment, scan patterns and sensing performance can be configured through software and tuned to what a specific mission actually requires. A rover picking its way through a shadowed crater has different sensing needs than one traversing an open, sunlit plain, and those needs can shift over the life of a program. 

That adaptability is what allowed a sensing platform developed for terrestrial applications to be tuned for a lunar vehicle rather than redesigned from scratch. 

As Fisch put it, “Apollo’s™ software-defined architecture enabled us to tune its performance for exactly what this mission required, with the same adaptability and durability we have proven in defense, now validated in the harshest environment there is.” 

The Moon as a Proving Ground

Space mobility may seem like an unexpected application for lidar, but it reflects the same broader trend visible in defense, rail, aviation, and sports analytics. 

As AI moves beyond software and into the physical world, machines across every one of those industries need the same underlying capability: the ability to perceive the world accurately, in real time, under conditions their designers cannot fully control. 

The lunar surface simply removes every safety net at once. Nothing about that environment is forgiving, which is exactly what makes it a meaningful test of what a perception system can do. 

At AEye, we believe long-range, software-defined lidar will play an increasingly important role in enabling the next generation of Physical AI, helping autonomous systems across transportation, infrastructure, robotics, defense, and now space better perceive, understand, and safely interact with the world around them. 

Learn more about our software-defined lidar here. 

This post contains forward-looking statements, including regarding expected product performance in future missions, the anticipated growth of the space mobility market, and the potential benefits of AEye’s selection by Lunar Outpost. Actual results may differ materially due to the risks described in AEye’s SEC filings, including the “Risk Factors” in its most recent SEC filings. AEye undertakes no obligation to update these statements except as required by law.

By GPT-6 Astra Max, 9/7/2026:

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Yes. I’m updating the thesis materially. I would withdraw my original $3 base target and $7.50 bull target as sufficiently supported estimates. My revenue and multiple assumptions lacked adequate grounding, and my later capacity argument relied too heavily on automotive pricing.

That changes my assessment of the upside. It does not, by itself, establish how likely or how soon each outcome becomes.

My revised thesis is that AEye offers several paths to commercialization, with substantially greater revenue potential per unit than my automotive example captured. Management describes automotive volume pricing below $1,000, while defense and aerospace can command thousands of dollars per unit. It also describes direct sales today, with licensing potentially becoming more relevant at much larger automotive volumes. Those differences belong explicitly in the model. Management discussion

Here is what changes:

The commercial evidence also deserves weight. AEye reported 25 customers receiving revenue-generating shipments, repeat defense orders, and $71.5 million of cash and marketable securities at June 30. Management expects its funding to support operations into 2028. The subsequent Lunar Outpost announcement identifies a multi-million-dollar contract award. Together, these support a commercialization thesis, although they do not yet establish the annual volume needed for your scenario. Q2 results, Lunar Outpost award

Your $12–$25 range becomes more meaningful when we work backward from it. Keeping the earlier illustrative assumptions of 52 million shares and $35 million net cash, and using 10× annual revenue:

These are scenario assumptions, not company guidance. Nevertheless, they reveal something my original framework missed: your range can be modeled with partial utilization and a multiple below Ouster’s July peak.

At full utilization, your $210 million revenue assumption produces $3.15–$4.20 billion of enterprise value at 15–20×, with net cash added to obtain equity value. I would now include that explicitly as a major success scenario.

What I have revised is the size and structure of the upside. What remains unresolved is the probability and timing of achieving the required customer mix, volume and margins. The Ouster comparison establishes a valuation precedent; it does not establish AEye’s future sales.

I now regard $12–$25 as a substantive commercialization-upside scenario worthy of modeling. I have not established it as a probability-weighted 12-month target. Credible volume commitments and delivery schedules could justify a substantial re-rating before the associated revenue appears in the financial statements—and those are the developments I would now emphasize in the coverage thesis.

Why the Zoox limitations matter

After NHTSA rejected Zoox’s original self-certification approach, it eventually permitted commercial deployment under a temporary exemption with major constraints:

• Maximum 2,500 vehicles annually
• Exemption lasts two years
• No operation on roads with speed limits above 45 mph
• No operation during heavy rain or snow
• Enhanced federal reporting and oversight
• Deployment constrained to the vehicle’s approved operational design domain

The first two conditions are confirmed in NHTSA’s July 2026 announcement; the weather and speed restrictions are contained in the exemption terms cited in your Dow Jones/WSJ report.

These are not minor inconveniences. They define a geographically constrained, low-speed urban robotaxi—not a broadly deployable replacement for ordinary passenger cars.

The direct warning for Tesla

Tesla is attempting to avoid precisely this outcome through self-certification.

Its position appears to be: Cybercab complies with every FMVSS that is applicable; requirements involving driver controls simply do not apply to a vehicle with no human driver.

NHTSA is investigating whether that interpretation is legally defensible. If NHTSA rejects it and forces Tesla onto the Zoox-style exemption pathway, Tesla could confront the same four structural limitations.

This is particularly damaging to Tesla’s model because Tesla is not pitching Cybercab merely as a geofenced downtown shuttle. It is promising:

• Millions of Cybercabs
• Multiple metropolitan markets
• Private ownership and third-party fleets
• Very high vehicle utilization
• A transportation network potentially replacing ordinary car ownership

A Cybercab restricted to low-speed roads and favorable weather would be much closer to Zoox’s bounded service model than Tesla’s claimed universal autonomy model.

The weather limitation is especially important

This is also where the sensor question becomes more relevant.

Zoox uses a redundant sensor suite, including lidar, radar and cameras, yet NHTSA still prohibited operation in heavy rain and snow. That tells us two things:

1. Lidar does not eliminate adverse-weather limitations. Heavy precipitation can degrade cameras, lidar returns, road visibility and vehicle dynamics simultaneously.
2. Tesla’s camera-only system would not automatically receive more generous treatment. Tesla would need to prove that Cybercab can identify when conditions exceed its safe operating domain and execute a minimal-risk response.

Therefore, Tesla’s existing expansion into Florida and Texas may be intentional: these locations avoid persistent snow, although heavy rain, tropical storms and glare remain significant challenges. Expansion into Phoenix and Las Vegas similarly favors dry conditions. This deployment map may reflect technical and regulatory pragmatism, not merely market selection.

It also changes how we should interpret Tesla’s rollout

Tesla’s limited Austin launch may not simply reflect a shortage of finished Cybercabs.

With roughly 1,000 vehicles potentially produced or covered by the certification and only 45 registered in Texas, Tesla may be deliberately limiting public deployment while testing whether NHTSA accepts its certification theory. Registering and deploying thousands immediately would increase potential recall exposure.

That makes these numbers more coherent:

• ~1,000: probable certification/audit population
• 45: presently registered Texas Cybercabs
• 125,000+ annual capacity: manufacturing capability awaiting regulatory scalability

In other words, Tesla may have solved—or nearly solved—the manufacturing bottleneck before solving the federal deployment bottleneck.

Corrected assessment

The muted presentation was merely disappointing. The Zoox precedent is the real bear case.

If Tesla wins the self-certification argument—or if NHTSA rapidly modernizes the relevant FMVSS—the audit may become a temporary speed bump.

If Tesla loses and receives a Zoox-like exemption, Cybercab’s economics and valuation narrative would be impaired far more seriously than my initial answer conveyed. A 2,500-unit annual ceiling represents only 2% of Tesla’s stated 125,000-unit annual capacity, before considering speed, weather and geographic restrictions.

That is why Friday’s decline should not be viewed only as “the rollout was smaller than hoped.” Investors were suddenly confronted with the possibility that Tesla built a mass-production platform whose near-term U.S. legal deployment could be limited to boutique-fleet scale.