Cepton Announces Koito Acquisition, Ushering in New Era for Long-Term Lidar Deployment 2025
Cepton, Inc. (“Cepton” or the “Company”), an innovator and leader in high-performance lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) solutions based in Silicon Valley, has completed its acquisition by KOITO MANUFACTURING CO., LTD. (“Koito”), a leading global supplier of automotive lighting systems. The acquisition, finalized on January 7th, 2025, places Cepton as a privately held, indirect subsidiary of Koito in the United States, with its corporate headquarters remaining in San Jose, California.
This strategic acquisition marks a significant milestone in the evolution of Cepton’s cutting-edge lidar technology, combining the strengths of both Cepton and Koito to accelerate the transformation of mobility and automotive safety. The two companies share a vision for advancing autonomous driving technologies and enhancing safety through innovative lidar and sensing solutions.
Koito, renowned for its expertise in the automotive lighting industry, will bolster efforts to scale lidar technology for wider commercial use. By merging pioneering advancements in lidar with Koito’s deep automotive manufacturing experience, the companies aim to revolutionize future mobility, providing solutions that promote sustainable, safe, and intelligent transportation.
Transforming Mobility with Precision Sensing Technology
As part of the acquisition, will continue to operate under its existing brand and management, maintaining its focus on developing state-of-the-art lidar sensors for a range of applications, from passenger vehicles and commercial transportation to industrial equipment and smart infrastructure. With a shared commitment to advancing safety, performance, and reliability in autonomous vehicles, the acquisition strengthens position in the rapidly growing lidar market, which is expected to be crucial in achieving safe autonomy at all levels.
Lidar technology has become a cornerstone in the development of autonomous vehicles, offering high-resolution, real-time environmental perception capabilities. However, for lidar to become a mainstream technology, it must meet the stringent performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency demands of automakers, and this is where and Koito’s partnership is poised to make a significant impact. By combining lidar innovations with Koito’s manufacturing scale and expertise, the companies are primed to address these challenges, accelerating the deployment of lidar across the automotive industry.
Key Synergies Driving Innovation and Commercialization
The acquisition brings several key benefits that will drive the next generation of automotive sensing solutions:
- Shared Vision for Automotive Safety and Autonomous Driving: Both and Koito share a vision of enhancing safety at every stage of autonomy. Through precision sensing and intelligent perception solutions, the two companies aim to contribute to safer roads by improving the capabilities of autonomous systems. By integrating lidar expertise with Koito’s established automotive leadership, this collaboration seeks to unlock the potential of lidar as a mainstream technology for autonomous and driver-assisted vehicles.
- Combining Leadership in Lidar and Automotive Solutions: Cepton’s expertise in lidar innovation will be complemented by Koito’s extensive history in industrializing advanced automotive solutions. Together, the companies will continue to focus on providing high-performance lidar sensors for a wide range of vehicle types, from passenger cars to commercial vehicles. Koito’s vast experience in manufacturing will allow to scale its lidar technology rapidly while maintaining quality and reliability.
- Financial Stability for Long-Term Growth: With the backing of Koito, Cepton gains increased financial stability that will enable long-term investments in its lidar technology. The acquisition allows to expand its product development capabilities and accelerate the mass-market adoption of lidar solutions. Additionally, Koito’s strong presence in the automotive industry will provide with new opportunities to scale its technologies across a broader range of applications.
- Streamlined Supply Chain and Faster Development Cycles: The integration of Cepton into Koito’s operations will create a unified and streamlined supply chain, reducing development cycles and improving efficiency. This collaboration will enable the companies to provide full-stack support, from program initiation through to aftermarket services, enhancing the overall customer experience. With the backing of Koito’s extensive global network, Cepton will be better positioned to serve customers and partners worldwide.
- Expanded Global Network and Market Reach: The acquisition also provides Cepton with access to a more extensive global customer base. Koito’s strong presence in key OEM-driven markets will allow Cepton to deepen its penetration into these regions, building stronger relationships with automakers and other partners in the automotive industry. This expanded reach is expected to accelerate the adoption of Cepton’s lidar solutions across the globe, particularly in regions where the demand for advanced autonomous vehicle technologies is growing