Cepton, Inc. Announces Closing of $100 Million Investment from Koito Manufacturing
20.1.2023 17:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Cepton, Inc. (“Cepton”) (Nasdaq: CPTN), a Silicon Valley innovator and leader in high performance lidar solutions, announced today the completion of its previously announced $100 million investment (the “Investment”) from its long-term automotive Tier 1 partner and current shareholder, Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (“Koito”) (TSE: 7276) on January 19, 2023. The Investment, in the form of convertible preferred stock, was approved at a special meeting of Cepton stockholders on January 11, 2023, and is convertible, beginning on the first anniversary of the issue date, into shares of Cepton’s common stock at an initial conversion price of $2.585 per share.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230120005052/en/
(Graphic: Business Wire)
“We’re happy to announce the closing of the preferred stock investment as we deepen our partnership with Koito,” said Dr. Jun Pei, Cepton’s Co-Founder and CEO. “We plan to deploy the additional capital to help fund our next stage of growth, continue series production execution, and expand our collaboration efforts towards winning additional automotive OEM programs.”
“We’re excited to have completed our third investment in Cepton, which solidifies our commitment to lidar and increasing automotive safety for drivers worldwide,” said Mr. Michiaki Kato, Koito’s President. “This is an important year for us as we work towards commercialization and scale manufacturing of our lidar products. We have a strong track record with Cepton as a partner and look forward to achieving our mutual goal of becoming the leader within lidar.”
Additional details regarding the close of the Investment will be included in a Form 8-K to be filed by Cepton with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Advisors
ICR Capital LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Cepton and O’Melveny & Myers LLP served as legal counsel to Cepton. SMBC Nikko served as exclusive financial advisor to Koito and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Nishimura & Asahi served as legal counsel to Koito.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “estimate,” “objective,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target,” “milestone,” “designed to,” “proposed” or other similar expressions that predict or imply future events, trends, terms and/or conditions or that are not statements of historical matters. Cepton cautions readers of this press release that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Cepton’s control, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from the expected results. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the potential benefits of the Investment, including with respect to Cepton’s financial position and ability to execute on commercialization and mass market deployment goals. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Cepton’s assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements. Cepton undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
About Cepton
Cepton is a Silicon Valley innovator of lidar-based solutions for automotive (ADAS/AV), smart cities, smart spaces, and smart industrial applications. With its patented lidar technology, Cepton aims to take lidar mainstream and achieve a balanced approach to performance, cost and reliability, while enabling scalable and intelligent 3D perception solutions across industries.
Cepton has been awarded a significant ADAS lidar series production award with Koito on the General Motors business. Cepton is also engaged with all Top 10 global OEMs.
Founded in 2016 and led by industry veterans with decades of collective experience across a wide range of advanced lidar and imaging technologies, Cepton is focused on the mass market commercialization of high performance, high quality lidar solutions. Cepton is headquartered in San Jose, CA and has a center of excellence facility in Troy, MI to provide local support to automotive customers in the Metro Detroit area. Cepton also has a presence in Germany, Canada, Japan, India and China to serve a fast-growing global customer base. For more information, visit www.cepton.com and follow Cepton on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Koito
Under the corporate message, “Lighting for Your Safety”, Koito Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (Koito) has been marking a history of leadership in automotive lighting since its establishment in 1915. Today, the Koito Group consists of 31 companies located in 13 countries worldwide and provides products and services to customers all over the world, through the global network led by five major regions (Japan, Americas, Europe, China, and Asia). Its products, recognized for its high quality and advanced technology, are widely used by automotive makers worldwide. The company is responding to the future transformation of mobility through the development of next-generation lighting technologies and related equipment, control systems, and environmentally friendly products, materials, and production methods. For more information, please visit www.koito.co.jp/english.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230120005052/en/
Contact information
Cepton, Inc. Contacts
Investors: InvestorRelations@cepton.com
Media: Faithy Li, media@cepton.com
Koito Manufacturing Contacts
Public Relations Department, kouhou@koito.co.jp
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Nebex Raises $30M Seed Round Led by GV to Build Market Infrastructure for the Global Space Economy29.6.2026 18:38:00 EEST | Press release
Nebex, the market infrastructure platform for the global space economy, announced a $30M seed investment led by GV (Google Ventures), with participation from other top-tier venture funds. The company also announced a banking relationship with J.P. Morgan. The capital raise and new banking relationship will help Nebex scale its platform and connect sovereign space programs with the founders and companies building new technologies to serve the space industry. "We built Nebex because we've seen firsthand that ambitious space founders struggle to deliver complex sovereign programs due to the lack of capital markets infrastructure that supports revenue and cashflow. This is something that exists in nearly every other industry," said Tejpaul Bhatia, CEO of Nebex. "Support from these organizations gives Nebex the additional leverage and financial infrastructure to build the global space economy at the scale it demands.” Since its inception, the space industry has run on a closed loop with a h
Medisca Enters Its Next Chapter Under Founder Antonio Dos Santos29.6.2026 17:19:00 EEST | Press release
For more than 35 years, Dos Santos has helped shape Medisca into a global leader in pharmaceutical compounding. As Chief Executive Officer, he will lead the company's long-term strategy, with a focus on expanding Medisca's global reach, investing in new areas of growth, strengthening strategic partnerships, and continuing to advance the products, services, education, and expertise that healthcare professionals rely on every day. "When I founded Medisca, my vision was to raise the standard of pharmaceutical compounding by bringing pharmaceutical-grade quality to the industry and giving healthcare professionals access to the products, knowledge, and innovation they needed to deliver better patient care," said Antonio Dos Santos, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Medisca. "That purpose continues to guide us. As we begin this next chapter, we'll keep investing in our people, our partnerships, and the innovation that will help shape the future of Medisca and the pharmaceutical compound
The Premier Jumping League (PJL) & McCarthy Jumping Team Announce Landmark Purchase29.6.2026 16:10:00 EEST | Press release
The Premier Jumping League (PJL) today announced that seasoned trader, investor, and competitive race car driver Jason McCarthy and McCarthy Jumping League LLC acquired the first PJL team in a landmark $50 million acquisition, building on rising momentum for the highly acclaimed professional jumping league. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260629512997/en/ The Premier Jumping League (PJL), photographed by Daniel Benson. The milestone investment represents an unprecedented valuation for a team in a newly established sports competition and underscores the confidence that sophisticated investors are placing in the PJL. The inaugural PJL season is scheduled to commence in April 2027. McCarthy brings extensive investment and trading experience to the League, having held leadership positions across the financial sector throughout his career. A graduate of MIT, McCarthy is the Founder and Managing Principal of a propr
InvestEco Sustainable Food Fund IV Holds a Final Close With Total Commitments of C$106M29.6.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
InvestEco Capital is pleased to announce the final close of the InvestEco Sustainable Food Fund IV. This fund will continue InvestEco’s work of investing in high-growth food companies that promote health and sustainability in the food sector. The Fund closed with total commitments of C$106M, the largest InvestEco fund to date. Investors include Farm Credit Canada, Export Development Canada, Business Development Bank of Canada, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, and two Government of Canada Social Finance Fund wholesalers: Boann and Realize Capital Partners. In addition, the Fund received commitments from a number of private investors and family offices. The Fund's investments to date include Humble Snacks, Little Sesame, Mid-Day Squares and Algae Cooking Club. The Fund expects to make a further 6 - 10 investments over the next few years. InvestEco Capital, founded in 2002, is a Toronto-based venture capital firm and impact investor focused on the sustainable food sector. For more information, em
Geoswift and SKUx Announce Strategic Partnership to Develop a First-of-Its-Kind Programmable Stablecoin Commerce Network29.6.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Geoswift and SKUx announced a groundbreaking partnership to develop a next-generation programmable stablecoin commerce network. This strategic collaboration bridges digital assets, traditional finance, and real-world commerce at a global scale, representing a "one-of-one" opportunity by combining Geoswift's global infrastructure with SKUx's specialized item-level controls directly within point-of-sale (POS) systems. While enterprise stablecoin usage continues to accelerate globally, governments, enterprises, payment networks, and AI-driven commerce platforms are increasingly seeking programmable payment infrastructure that can bridge digital assets with real-world commerce. The innovation goes far beyond treasury management or even enabling consumers to spend stablecoins at retail locations. Instead, it unlocks true "programmable money" with embedded controls, rules, and purpose-driven utility —requiring both programmable settlement and programmable spending controls. Geoswift and SKUx
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom