The lidar veteran went bankrupt, but couldn’t raise money in the spotlight

If lidar doesn’t make money, veteran companies will go bankrupt!

Recently, foreign media Newswires reported that on September 30, German time, lidar supplier Ibeo Automotive Systems GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Ibeo") has filed for bankruptcy and will undergo self-administration procedures.

This company has been established for 25 years, so it can be called an "old company". However, no matter how "old" a company is, it is difficult for it to go bankrupt if it does not have sustained financial income. Currently, in order to comfort employees, Ibeo leaders tell them that the company can give them another month's salary.

On the surface, this reminder seems heart-warming, but Christmas is coming soon, and this reminder also seems a bit heart-warming at this time. What’s even more worrying is that the main reason for Ibeo’s bankruptcy this time was still the failure to raise funds.

According to public information, Ibeo has received basically no other financing except by selling its equity to automotive supplier ZF and precision equipment manufacturer AAC Technologies.

In terms of revenue, except for the large order from Audi A8, Ibeo does not have any other large-scale cooperation. As you can imagine, the revenue scale is not large.

However, many analytical institutions are still very optimistic about the lidar market and say that 2022 will be the first year of lidar mass production. Yole, a well-known semiconductor consulting organization, also boldly predicts that the automotive radar market will reach US$12.8 billion (approximately RMB 85.6 billion) in 2027.

If the market really develops according to this trend, wouldn't Ibeo "die on the night before dawn"? What a pity! After all, Ibeo has been persisting for so many years, but it is really surprising that it went bankrupt due to a small financing! The global lidar market is likely to lose a very competitive player!

So, what is the specific situation of Ibeo recently? Is the development process smooth or not? What are the specific products? What is the domestic and foreign lidar market like? Che Dongxi found some answers by collecting information.

1. Only able to pay one month’s salary and went bankrupt due to lack of financing

Recently, Ibeo CEO Dr. Ulrich S. Lages and COO Christophe Minster informed employees of the current situation of the company and assured that the company can pay the wages of more than 400 employees until the end of November. In addition, the company is still communicating with interested investors and trying to make the situation less bad.

▲Ibeo CEO Dr. Ulrich S. Lages and COO Christophe Minster

Fortunately, all of the company's locations in Hamburg (Germany), Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Detroit (USA) continue to operate at full capacity. Ibeo’s management is optimistic that with the new investors, the company will be able to maintain its position as a leading supplier of lidar sensors and related products and software tools on the global market.

It is understood that Ibeo filed for bankruptcy because it was unable to obtain further growth financing.

Dr. Ulrich S. Lages, CEO of the company, said: “We will therefore now be looking for interested parties to support the further development of Ibeo. We continue to believe in our leading technology, our highly qualified employees and our business model, and see a positive impact on Ibeo. Huge future market for lidar sensors, including the world's first ready-to-use 4D solid-state lidar sensor for automotive series production In the 25 years since its founding, Ibeo has established itself on the market as a leader in lidar sensors, position as a leading expert in related software and supporting systems. We are optimistic that Ibeo’s future technology has good opportunities in the booming global autonomous driving market. This makes Ibeo extremely attractive to investors.”

Ibeo's management team is currently supported by restructuring experts from the law firm Brinkmann & Partner, and the regional court has appointed insolvency expert Dr. Tjark Thies from the law firm Reimer Rechtsanwälte as interim administrator. It also appointed an interim creditors committee composed of representatives of suppliers, employees, lenders and employment agencies.

2. A veteran lidar enterprise that has been established for 25 years

In 1998, Ibeo Automotive Sensors Co., Ltd. was established to develop emergency braking systems based on laser scanning technology. In 2000, SICK AG became its majority shareholder. In 2016, ZF, a supplier to BMW and other car companies, also became its shareholder.

▲Ibeo’s development milestones (Source: company official website)

In 2017 and 2019, Ibeo established subsidiaries in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and Detroit, the United States. In 2021, Ibeo began to cooperate with AAC Technologies.

In the process, Ibeo has gradually become a leading company in lidar sensors and related products and software tools. Related technologies are often used in automobiles and autonomous driving systems.

As of now, Ibeo employs a total of more than 400 employees at its factories in Hamburg, Eindhoven (Netherlands) and Detroit (USA), and it also plans to establish a subsidiary in China.

▲Business covers many countries

3. Providing radar and solutions Audi Great Wall is a customer

Currently, Ibeo's main products are divided into two categories: lidar sensors and solutions.

Among them, the sensors are divided into two types: Ibeo NEXT solid-state lidar and Ibeo LUX lidar sensors. The solution is also suitable for fields such as autonomous driving, project verification, and various industrial verifications.

▲Products

As for other customers, looking at Ibeo's cooperation models, there are more concept cars, such as the concept car sQuba designed by Frank Rinderknecht for the Geneva International Motor Show in 2008 and Rinspeed's concept car Budii in 2015.

▲Cooperation projects

In 2016, Ibeo began to participate in the shuttle bus project jointly promoted by its partner Local MotorsOLLI. In 2018, it demonstrated the jointly developed automatic shuttle bus with Bestmile and other companies at ITS 2018 in Copenhagen.

It is worth mentioning that in 2017, the world's first lidar mass-produced car, the Audi A8, was released, equipped with a four-line lidar jointly developed by Ibeo and Valeo.

In 2019, "microSNAP" was developed with the help of Ibeo technology and can be used as both a passenger shuttle and a cargo taxi. It was also unveiled at the CES conference.

In 2020, Great Wall announced that Ibeo has become the world's first solid-state lidar series supplier to Great Wall Motors, providing new ibeoNEXT solid-state lidar equipment for SOP (put into production) level 3 vehicles in 2022. However, Great Wall has not yet disclosed the specific model.

Public information shows that Ibeo has only conducted two rounds of public financing since its establishment, namely in 2016 when ZF acquired 40% of its shares and in 2021 when domestic precision equipment manufacturer AAC Technology participated in equity financing.

At present, Chexixi has not found Ibeo’s revenue, but you can refer to the second quarter 2022 financial report of Velodyne, the lidar leader.

The financial report shows that Velodyne’s total revenue in the second quarter of 2022 was approximately US$11.51 million (approximately RMB 81.91 million) (total revenue in the first quarter was US$6.18 million (approximately RMB 43.98 million)), of which lidar Product sales revenue was US$9.7 million (approximately RMB 69.03 million) (product sales revenue in the first quarter was US$4.4 million (approximately RMB 31.31 million)).

▲Velodyne’s second quarter 2022 financial report revenue data

Taken together, the revenue of the leading lidar company in a quarter is less than 100 million yuan. For companies with smaller shipments like Ibeo, the financial pressure is extremely high.

4. The massive mass production market for lidar is expected to grow

A recent research report released by China Merchants Securities shows that 2021 will be the first year for lidar to be put on the market, and 2022 is expected to be the year for mass production of lidar, moving from L2-level assisted driving to L3+ autonomous driving.

In January 2021, NIO announced on NIO day that all ET7 series are equipped with lidar, setting off a wave of fixed-point lidar among Chinese car companies. Subsequently, Xpeng, BAIC Jihu, SAIC Zhiji, SAIC Feifan, and GAC Aian New car-making forces such as , Ideal, Gaohe, and WM Motor, as well as new energy brands from traditional car companies, have all announced that new models that will be mass-produced or delivered will be equipped with lidar. These models will be delivered in 2022 at the latest, and 2022 is expected to be a big year for lidar mass production.

The assembly rate of lidar is also expected to show a significant speed-up inflection point between 2022 and 2025, opening up a market size of 100 billion.

According to calculations and forecasts by Yole, a well-known semiconductor consulting organization, the automotive radar market size will be US$5.8 billion (approximately RMB 41.27 billion) in 2021, and will reach US$12.8 billion (approximately RMB 85.6 billion) in 2027, with a CAGR (compound annual average growth rate) is 14%.

▲Future market forecast (Source: China Merchants Securities)

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) predicts that in 2030, the penetration rate of vehicle radar will reach 65% in Europe and 50% in the United States.

Among them, the market size of vehicle-mounted lidar (unmanned driving + ADAS) in 2021 is US$200 million (approximately RMB 1.42 billion), and will exceed US$2.875 billion (approximately RMB 19.2 billion) in 2026, accounting for approximately 1% of the entire market. 26% of the automotive radar field is 22 percentage points higher than in 2021, and the CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is as high as 66%. The growing demand for passenger cars and Robotaxi/Robotruck has become a driving factor for the automotive lidar market.

Conclusion: A stable capital chain is the foundation of a company’s operations