In order to cut costs and retain sufficient cash, Ouster, an American lidar company, announced about 30 layoffs (accounting for about 10% of the company's total employees) as part of a broader "downsizing" measure.
Ouster is one of several lidar technology development companies that raised funds through SPAC backdoor listing in recent years. Its compact sensors are usually based on vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays. According to a recent document from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), this San Francisco startup raised nearly 300 million dollars in total revenue through the SPAC transaction in March 2021, and currently employs about 290 people.
Ouster said that it was "implementing a multifaceted strategy" and expected to reduce the total cash expenditure of the company to US $107 million in 2023 (about 15% lower than the expected total this year).
In addition to layoffs, the "strategic" measures will also include reducing capital expenditure and adjusting inventory accumulation. It is reported that the company has also raised additional cash through loans and the stock market, and is now seeking to accelerate its sales growth through the upcoming "L3" laser radar chip.
On September 8 earlier, Ouster announced that it had raised $42 million in the latest round of financing (round B), with a total financing amount of $140 million. Angus Pacala, co-founder and CEO of the company, said that he would use the newly raised funds to develop products and provide support for international sales.
At present, Angus Pacala stressed that "we are very focused on enhancing profitability and hope to minimize capital requirements."
According to the company's latest quarterly report, as of June 30, the cash and equivalents on Ouster's balance sheet were slightly less than $160 million. In this report, Ouster's quarterly revenue was $10.3 million, but its operating loss was as high as $33.2 million. In the first half of this year, Ouster burned more than $55 million.
About a year ago, Ouster acquired Sense Photonics to better target automotive laser radar applications. Partly for the consideration of this transaction, Angus Pacala predicted in March this year that the company's annual sales would increase from 33.6 million dollars in 2021 to 65 million to 85 million dollars in 2022.
However, last month, this expectation was suddenly lowered to $40-55 million. Angus Pacala and the company's management team attributed it to "sustained macroeconomic pressure". It is said that many large transactions have been postponed, or have become a staggered situation, and the time cycle is longer than previously expected.
Anna Brunelle, the chief financial officer of Ouster, said: "By revising our revenue forecast for this year and taking prudent financial measures to ensure that we can obtain funds in the current environment, we will be able to better deal with adverse factors, expand business scale and achieve industry-leading growth."
Although she was determined to take the latest cost reduction measures this time, Anna Brunelle said that Ouster was still "capable of becoming a market leader" this year. The CFO said that Ouster would continue to provide first-class hardware to occupy market share, move towards achieving specific products and security certification, and establish a strong software ecosystem to expand its potential market.
At present, Ouster has identified business areas that can improve operational efficiency, so that it can further implement its strategic plan; At the same time, it is expected to provide high-performance products to hundreds of customers to enhance its profitability.
In the quarter ended June, Ouster also withdrew $20 million from the $50 million term loan facility and raised about $15 million through the sale of common stock in the market, which has been suspended.
After the completion of the SPAC transaction, Ouster's stock initially traded at about $15 on the New York Stock Exchange, but it has been depreciating since then, and the current transfer price is only slightly higher than $1.
Source: OFweek Laser Network
