That’s their most dominant product. It’s not the app store only. So, we are going to make our LiDAR, and that’s where you want to be because you’re going to have to invest in R&D to make the current LiDAR there, to deliver that, but they want to see a roadmap because that’s simple company. How are you going to give me more features at a lower cost or more software in the future because, of course, software is a big part of it? We are going to establish our LiDAR business. And then, of course, the key area of software is how you really start monetizing this company because you’ll have an install base and you can sell them software that runs on their product as we sell additional LiDAR in the future.
A – Anubhav Verma: If I can just add to that, I think the capital markets are already — they have sort of given their verdict on LiDAR companies that took the licensing route, and their valuations are significantly lower today because I think you can give away the farm here because I think it’s very important to have a contract manufacturing model because this is how we maintain control of technology. And obviously this is how we share overheads. And part of it also has to do with we are going to provide the liability and the warranties associated with any product like a tier 1 as well. So, I think all these aspects are very important to even build a business because, like I said, at the end of the day, a successful LiDAR company will have the entire capability from soup to nuts in terms of having the design house as well as the production, and the supply chain infrastructure in place to be that successful [technical difficulty] —
A – Sumit Sharma: It’s hard to secure, but if you can imagine, we’ve engaged with lots of OEMs. Some of them did not choose us early part of the year. And part of it, to be honest with you, it’s not technology. They all acknowledge the technology is there, it’s just their timeline, that they need the launch timeline. And they value it early on if you are going to be there at the end of it. Some of them acknowledge there’s another model year coming after that that you would be better suited for because that lines up with your timeline. But this whole manufacturing part, security, quality, confidence in supply, those are pretty important deals for them. And some of them just had — like two years ago, we were deeply engaged with them it would have been better, right?
But I think — but it hasn’t shut the door because we’re still engaged with those OEMs, but they recognize that — but your onboarding time is going to be at this point, so the technology is there, they’re aware of us, we could get onboarded for them, but it’s really about, I would say, and this is not true just of us, this is every company, every company that are announcing a deal, that one of the first thing they’re looking at is how close are you to getting things going. And not just your word, they want to take a look at it, they want to see, do they believe that you have the supply chain for it, you have the partnerships for it, do you know what the automation would be, like is it not invention or is this execution. In the case of MOVIA, of course, certainly there’s a production line that’s there.
MOVIA SRL is a derivative of that. So, of course, there’s great confidence that, “Okay, you know how to do this one, so you can start to do another product line for that.” MAVIN, on the other hand, we have 200 millimeter wafers, we have single-cavity tools, we have automation equipment that we risk-purchased early on in anticipation for these things. So, we’ve done all the things that are there, and the rest is ASIC timelines, all these things. But I would not say it is our technology. When it comes to technology, it’s clearly that we can to any place and they’ll say, “Wow, this is great. I’m so glad you’re there.” But it’s launch-readiness is, I would say — I’m thumping the table when I’m saying this, it’s launch-readiness. And we have to be flawless in being able to ready to launch the product.
A – Anubhav Verma: Right, thanks, Sumit. I think we’ll maybe take one last question, we’re coming up on time. What strategy does MicroVision intend to employ for the rapid scaling of mass production for MAVIN and MOVIA? What will be the expected pace of mass manufacturing expansion?
A – Sumit Sharma: I think it’s a good question. I think this is actually a really good question. If you think about it, the real benefit we have is we don’t have to invent a huge amount of automation to make our products. We use semiconductor processes and wire bonder, die bonders, and other automated equipment that are available that we modify for our needs. So, our — to get a production line up and running towards a very specific tact time that a customer would want is much more predictable. But getting a single line qualified or single set of supply base qualified for the OEM takes a long time. So, I don’t at this moment expect that we’re going to have three different factories in three different continents all simultaneously.
We are willing to do that if a customer is willing to pay for it. We’re going to have a mother factory, we’re going to start, establish our line, our process, have partnerships there, and we could supply globally there, taxes and VAT and everything is taken care of, logistics timeline, all the price is all baked in. Then if there’s a very specific need that an OEM has where they want us to say, “Well, I want you to put a production line to support my North American operations. And I want to decouple it from Asia.” Absolutely happy to do it, as long as there’s security of understanding what the volumes would be, what investments would be, what part of tooling they can cover, because clearly you have a factory up and running. And we’re also willing to do it in Europe if there’s something specific that they want us to do to secure independence from any specific region that they may have in mind, we’re happy to do that.
But we’re certainly going to start with the number one thing, as I said to you today, they expect a very competitive price. That competitive price comes from key partners that are in Asia, because a lot of the semiconductor equipment companies in Asia and has been deployed in Asia, and the best process engineers are in the U.S., but also in Asia, and very, very good process engineers are there. So, we need to trust our partnerships — our contract manufacturing partnerships for that. So, we’re going to start with that. And we’re going to look at expansion as and when the volumes are real.
End of Q&A:
Anubhav Verma: Right, thanks, Sumit. I think that’s all the questions. With this I would really like to thank all our shareholders for joining us on this third quarter call. We look forward to sharing more updates with you in the near-future. Thank you again.
Sumit Sharma: Thank you. Bye-bye.
Operator: Thank you. This concludes today’s conference. All parties may disconnect. And have a great day.
