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
Lyft App Launches in Europe30.9.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Starting today, Lyft (NASDAQ: LYFT) riders can use their Lyft app in cities across Europe. Early access to the Lyft app rolls out in Barcelona and Hamburg first; throughout October, the Lyft app will become available for riders to use in some of Europe’s largest cities including London, Rome, Paris, Berlin, Athens, and Warsaw. By the end of October riders visiting Spain, Italy, Greece, Poland, England, Scotland, Ireland, Austria, France, and Germany will have one go-to app when they cross the Atlantic, building on the foundations from this past summer beta testing the Lyft app in Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930010726/en/ The Lyft app is now available in Europe “Millions of riders across North America trust Lyft to get them where they’re going every day. Now that same app works the moment they land in Europe. No need to download anything new,” said Sid Patil, Lyft’s Chief Rideshare and Marketplac
A Workplace Worth Toasting: Bacardi Continues its Rise on Forbes World’s Best Employers List30.9.2026 14:45:00 EEST | Press release
Bacardi Limited is proving that a workplace worth toasting keeps getting better. The family-owned business has once again been named to the Forbes World's Best Employers list, taking the top spot among spirits companies. Climbing 17 places since last year, in 2026 Bacardi comes in at #69 globally. The jump in ranking reflects a commitment to creating a workplace where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired to grow while helping shape the future of the company. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930327935/en/ Bacardi Limited Leads Spirits Companies Forbes World's Best Employers 2026 Ranking. “At Bacardi, great moments start with great people. That's why we listen carefully to what they're telling us, learn from that feedback, and keep evolving. We want people to feel clear on how they can grow, confident they can make their mark, and supported to do their best work,” says Dave Ingram, Chief People and T
Forrester’s 2027 European Predictions: Despite A Strong Desire To Regain Its Digital Sovereignty, Europe Will Selectively Reset, Not Sever, Key Technology Relationships30.9.2026 14:33:00 EEST | Press release
According to Forrester’s (Nasdaq: FORR) 2027 European predictions, unveiled today at Forrester’s Technology & Innovation Forum EMEA, Europe will enter 2027 determined to recover its digital autonomy, but the gap between its ambition and control will widen. More than half of European companies embracing AI will reduce their dependence on US hyperscalers due to sovereignty concerns, moving their critical data and applications to European providers. A lack of end-to-end sovereign alternatives, however, will require consumers, companies, and policymakers to pursue selective digital autonomy, which consequently will reshape consumer behaviours, cloud choices, mobility, resilience, and trade strategy with China. Forrester’s Predictions reports offer forward-looking insights into trends to help executives and their teams anticipate change, reduce uncertainty, and make confident decisions ahead of market shifts. Key highlights from the Europe 2027 predictions include: China will trigger manufa
Vasion® Named a Leader in the 2026 IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Print Management Solutions as Enterprise Print Becomes AI Ready30.9.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Vasion, the intelligent print automation company, today announced it has been named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for Worldwide Print Management Solutions 2026 Vendor Assessment (doc # US54124826, September 2026). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260930788016/en/ According to the IDC MarketScape, "Organizations in sectors such as education, healthcare, government, manufacturing, financial services, and retail should consider Vasion when seeking support for business process automation revolving around print, output, and agentic or rules-based workflows. Vasion customers may derive considerable value from the vendor's solutions in support of unifying their organizations' digital transformation efforts, particularly where a single portal with functionality extending beyond print management is sought, and especially where FedRAMP® High Authorization, a SOC 2 Type II report, or ISO 27001/42001 certification is req
Pantheon Expands Middle East Presence With New Abu Dhabi Office and Senior Regional Appointment30.9.2026 13:56:00 EEST | Press release
Pantheon, a leading global private markets firm with approximately $84bn in assets under management, today announced the expansion of its presence in the Middle East with the opening of its first office in ADGM, the international financial center based in Abu Dhabi, alongside the appointment of Firas Mallah as Managing Director and Head of Middle East. Demand for access to private equity, infrastructure, and private credit strategies continues to build among sophisticated investors across the Middle East, who recognize Pantheon for its 40-year track record of innovation and expertise across primaries, secondaries and co-investment opportunities. Secondaries – pioneered by Pantheon in 1988 – remains a defining thread across the platform: alongside its long-established private equity secondaries business, Pantheon has among the industry's first and largest private credit and infrastructure secondaries franchises, making it a strong partner in that space across the GCC. These strategies a
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