Ramachandran to Oversee Product Strategy and Management across all Vertical Industries Globally; Former Cepton and Velodyne Executive is the Latest LiDAR Industry Leader to Join the AEye team

AEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIDR), a global leader in adaptive, high-performance LiDAR solutions, today announced the appointment of Dr. T.R. Ramachandran as chief product officer. Ramachandran, who has more than two decades of experience delivering complex, market-leading solutions to large global customers, will report to AEye CEO Blair LaCorte. His hiring comes amid rapid growth for AEye, as the company builds out its management team and expands globally to meet accelerating market demand for its adaptive LiDAR.

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Former Cepton and Velodyne Executive T.R. Ramachandran is the Latest LiDAR Industry Leader to Join the AEye team (Photo: Business Wire)

Ramachandran brings over 23 years of experience in the technology industry to his new position, including global product launches and related marketing activities. Prior to AEye, he led marketing and product management at LiDAR companies Cepton and Velodyne. His deep experience in the LiDAR industry extends across several key markets, such as autonomous vehicles (AV), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), intelligent transportation systems (ITS), and security. Among his prior roles, he also served as a Vice President at LSI Corp. and helped pave the way for its acquisition by Broadcom (Avago) in 2014. He holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Southern California, with a focus on InGaAs optoelectronics, as well as scanning probe-based imaging and nanotechnology.

“T.R. joins the AEye team at the perfect time to guide the strategy and development of our next generation of 4Sight™ products,” said Blair LaCorte, CEO of AEye. “His proven track record of delivering industry leading products will ensure we are able to continue to deliver world leading performance to our customers. T.R. had the opportunity to work anywhere in the industry. In choosing to join the AEye team, he validates that our technology, team, and business model are the most compelling in the industry.”

AEye LiDAR Uniquely Enables Higher Levels of Autonomous Functionality

AEye has developed a unique software configurable LiDAR system, based on a modular hardware platform. Its LiDAR uses adaptive sensing to deliver industry-leading performance to address the most difficult challenges facing autonomous driving. Unlike traditional sensing systems, which passively collect data, AEye’s adaptive LiDAR scans the entire scene, while intelligently focusing on what matters in order to enable safer, smarter, and faster decisions in complex scenarios, while meeting automotive functional safety requirements. As a result, AEye’s LiDAR is designed to enable higher levels of autonomous functionality (SAE L2-L5) at the optimal performance, power, and price.

This modular system design and software programmability enables AEye to produce a single LiDAR system that can be optimized for multiple markets, while uniquely driving innovation and reducing costs. For the ADAS market, AEye licenses its technology to Tier 1 automotive suppliers. Recently, Continental announced it has integrated AEye’s long-range LiDAR technology into its full stack Automated Driving platform, and is industrializing the technology for a planned start of volume production in 2024.

This announcement comes at a time of rapid growth and expansion for AEye. In recent months, the company has added key executives to its management team, as well as opened offices in Japan and Korea and expanded AEye’s footprint in Europe and the U.S. To get the latest AEye news and information, sign up for the company newsletter at https://www.aeye.ai/updates-sign-up/.

About AEye

AEye is the premier provider of intelligent, next generation, adaptive LiDAR for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and robotic vision applications. AEye’s iDAR™ (Intelligent Detection and Ranging) system and 4Sight sensors leverage biomimicry and principles from automated targeting applications used by the military to scan the environment, intelligently focusing on what matters most, enabling faster, more accurate, and more reliable perception. iDAR is the only software configurable LiDAR with integrated deterministic artificial intelligence, delivering industry-leading performance in range, resolution, and speed. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are sometimes accompanied by words such as “believe,” “continue,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “strategy,” “future,” “opportunity,” “predict,” “plan,” “may,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends, or that are not statements of historical matters. Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections, and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are very difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from the assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of AEye. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to: (i) the risks that the Company will be unable to deliver world leading performance to its customers as quickly as anticipated, or at all; (ii) the risks that we will be able to successfully launch products into the market, or at all; (iii) the risks that the Company’s relationship with Continental will result in the development of a product for the automotive market that meets the expectations of customers, or at all; (iv) the risks that the Company’s products can be optimized for multiple markets, or at a price point acceptable to our customers; (v) the risks that the Company’s growth in expenses will be outweighed by market opportunities or revenue generated by such additional overhead; (vi) the risk that lidar adoption occurs slower than anticipated or fails to occur at all; (vii) the risk that AEye’s singular LiDAR system can be optimized effectively and efficiently for multiple markets; (viii) the risk that AEye’s products will not meet the diverse range of performance and functional requirements of AEye’s target markets and customers; (ix) the risk that AEye’s products will not function as anticipated by AEye or by AEye’s target markets and customers; (x) the risk that AEye may not be in a position to adequately or timely address either the near or long-term opportunities that may or may not exist in the evolving autonomous transportation industry; (xi) the risk that AEye will be unable to successfully realize the benefits of AEye’s capital-light business model; (xii) the risk that laws and regulations are adopted impacting the use of lidar that AEye is unable to comply with, in whole or in part; (xiii) changes in competitive and regulated industries in which AEye operates, variations in operating performance across competitors, and changes in laws and regulations affecting AEye’s business; (xiv) the risk that AEye is unable to adequately implement its business plans, forecasts, and other expectations, and identify and realize additional opportunities; and (xv) the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive and evolving industry in which AEye operates. These risks and uncertainties may be amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused significant economic uncertainty. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties described in the “Risk Factors” section of the registration statement on Form S-4, that includes a definitive proxy statement/prospectus, that AEye (formerly known as CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III) filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and other documents filed by AEye or that will be filed by AEye from time to time with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.

Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements; AEye assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. AEye gives no assurance that AEye will achieve any of its expectations.

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