Innoviz cutting 13% of workforce to extend cash runway
Innoviz cutting 13% of workforce to extend cash runway
The LiDAR technology developer is laying off around 60 people with the aim of reducing cash outlays by $22-24 million on an annualized basis
LiDAR technology developer Innoviz announced on Wednesday that it is laying off 13% of its workforce. Around 60 employees are set to leave the company, which employs a total of 468 people, mostly in its headquarters in Rosh Ha’ayin in Israel, as well as in Europe and the U.S.
Innoviz said the “realignment actions” to be implemented during the first quarter of 2024 are expected to reduce cash outlays by $22-24 million on an annualized basis. Savings are expected to be derived primarily from the transition of the InnovizOne program to series production and concentration of future investments on the InnovizTwo sensor and perception software suite.
"Innoviz is at an important point in its growth trajectory," said Omer Keilaf, Innoviz Co-Founder and CEO. "The Company is in a market capture window that has the potential to determine the market share of the LiDAR industry for the next decade or more. Today's actions are the result of a thoughtful process to optimize the company's cost structure, increase our competitive positioning, and extend our cash runway through the expected remainder of the market capture window. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our ability to achieve our long-term goals and become a market leader in automotive LiDAR."
Innoviz, which has a market cap of under $300 million after losing over 55% of its value over the last six months, is still deep in the red. The company registered revenues of just $3.5 million in Q3 of 2023, which was up 138% compared to revenues of $1.5 million in Q2 2023 and up 297% compared to revenues of $0.9 million in Q3 2022. Operating expenses in Q3 2023 were $27.8 million.
Since 2021, Innoviz has simultaneously funded the development of two production path programs – the InnovizOne and InnovizTwo LiDAR sensor and perception software suites. With the InnovizOne program now transitioned from the development phase into full series production, the company decided to eliminate duplicative cost structures and significantly reduce its spending on InnovizOne development, while reinvesting a portion of the savings into the InnovizTwo sensor.
The company also said that it is reducing its investments in initiatives that have meaningful upfront cash outlays and lengthy time horizons before achieving commercialization and securing sizeable series production volumes. These initiatives include the Minimum Risk Maneuver (MRM) software solution and the InnovizCore AI compute module, along with other previously unannounced initiatives.
