What Management Said

Read the full Q1 2026 transcript ↗

Q1 was a strong quarter at Aeva, where we achieved another one new quarterly revenue record as we continued executing on our growing commercial momentum. This is not only helping drive our strong revenue trajectory, but we believe also further positions Aeva to continue our commercial growth with a growing list of customers. Our focus remains on delivering on existing programs, further solidifying a leadership position with additional wins and scaling manufacturing to support the expanding demand for Aeva's differentiated technology. We are encouraged by our ongoing engagements and over Q1 continue to grow our pipeline.

Gross cash use, which we define as operating cash flow less CapEx, was $28.1 million in the quarter. We're also scaling our manufacturing to support more customers and the increasing demand for our products and differentiated technology platform. Can you talk about the potential acceleration in that market segment, you know, with metrology solutions and how we should think about, you know, new build versus retrofit applications for the sensors? I think in general, we are seeing for, you know, the industrial market and general Physical AI, significant demand across multiple segments for us.

Also we're seeing interest and demand from others, importantly in the EV sensing market for example, semi-capital equipment manufacturing, where there's significant investments. You know, there's orders, you know, coming in for that as well with much higher volume. Separately on the other side of Physical AI, I guess on the ITS and smart infrastructure, we're seeing growing demand for CityOS. We are starting to deploy some of the large scale deployments in Georgia.

What went well
  • Achieved a new record revenue quarter of $6.3 million, up approximately 90% year-over-year, driven by scaling sensor shipments across multiple markets and progress on development milestones.
  • Began deliveries of production-intent Atlas (C-sample) sensors to Daimler Truck, a critical step toward the OEM's series production.
  • Integrated the first Atlas Ultra sensors into the top European passenger OEM's development vehicles and kicked off collaboration with NVIDIA on the DRIVE Hyperion platform, including implementing Aeva's velocity data path.
  • Expanded in defense as Forterra adopted Aeva 4D LiDAR on a second autonomous ground vehicle (MESA, integrating four Atlas sensors).
  • Nikon commercially launched its next-generation APDIS MV5 robotic inspection laser radar powered by Aeva's Eve technology, under a multi-year production agreement.
  • Secured its first large-scale CityOS smart-infrastructure deployment in Georgia with expansion to 30 additional intersections in the Greater Atlanta area.
What went wrong
  • Non-GAAP operating loss was $25.8 million, about flat year-over-year, as the company remains deeply unprofitable.
  • Gross cash use (operating cash flow less capex) was $28.1 million in the quarter.
  • The AI data center / optical interconnect opportunity remains early-stage, with commercialization framed as something to discuss 'more in the next year' and no current revenue.
  • Major passenger production programs remain years from start of production (target 2028), leaving revenue dependent on long development timelines and customer decision timing.
  • Cash equivalents and marketable securities stood at $99.5 million, with a large portion of liquidity ($125 million) sitting in an undrawn facility rather than cash on hand.

Guidance Changes

MetricPeriodCurrent guidance
2026 commercial wins targetFY2026Well ahead of schedule, already counting Forterra and NVIDIA
Top European passenger OEM start of production2028On track, with additional sensor deliveries planned this year

Performance Breakdown

MetricYoYNote
Revenue +~90% Scaling sensor shipments across multiple markets and progression on development milestones for major customers.
Non-GAAP operating loss About flat $25.8 million, reflecting the ability to hold operating expenses at similar levels versus the prior year while scaling the business.
Total available liquidity — $224.5 million, comprising $99.5 million in cash, equivalents and marketable securities plus a $125 million undrawn facility.

Earnings Call Themes & Trends

TopicPrevious mentionCurrent periodTrend
AI data center / optical interconnectNot a focus areaStrong interest from GPU makers (NVIDIA, AMD) and hyperscalers (Amazon, Meta) in Aeva's high-power sources and silicon photonics for CPO—
NVIDIA DRIVE HyperionReference LiDAR selection announcedCollaboration kicked off, with teams integrating FMCW velocity data into the DRIVE Hyperion stack—
Defense / ForterraFirst defense win with ForterraForterra expanding Aeva to a second AGV (MESA), plus growing interest in drone applications—
Precision sensing / NikonEve sensors began shippingNikon's first commercial product (APDIS MV5) powered by Eve now launched under a multi-year agreement—

Q&A Summary

Update on progress with SOA and CPO solutions for the data center - where are you on commercialization?
The next AI data-center bottleneck is optical interconnect as copper hits physical data-transfer limits. Aeva's decade of high-power sources and proprietary silicon photonics gives it a potential performance and cost advantage, and it is seeing strong interest from GPU makers like NVIDIA and AMD and hyperscalers such as Amazon and Meta. Initial data is promising and the company expects to say more over the next year.
Can you talk about the potential acceleration in factory/metrology, and new-build versus retrofit applications?
Aeva sees significant industrial demand beyond automotive. Nikon's first commercial Eve-based product is shipping, and interest is growing in EV/semiconductor-capital-equipment manufacturing for wafer measurement and quality control, with more than 1,000 sensors already shipping and higher-volume orders coming. Smart infrastructure (CityOS) and defense are also contributing, so the focus is now on scaling manufacturing.
With the passenger OEM moving toward software/stack development, how is this happening differently to avoid past OEM software struggles?
Automotive is progressing on multiple fronts: production-intent Atlas C-samples shipped to Daimler Truck and first Atlas Ultra samples delivered to the top European OEM. Teams are working intensely with on-site support and multiple weekly engagements to implement sensor data into the stack and run fleets, keeping the 2028 SOP on track. The pipeline is also growing across passenger, commercial and ADAS Level 2.
What is your go-to-market in defense, and does the Aeva product translate easily to drones?
Defense is a fast-growing contributor - already a double-digit percentage of product revenues - with Aeva acting as a Tier 1 supplier (not the prime) to defense innovators. Forterra is expanding across ground-vehicle platforms, and Aeva has drone engagements with large prime organizations, where its long range, velocity and night-vision-stealth advantages apply.
You targeted 4 commercial wins in 2026 - is CityOS one of them and how are conversations going?
Aeva has had multiple wins since the start of the year and is counting Forterra and NVIDIA toward the four-win goal, putting it well ahead of schedule. Management noted that as the company matures the emphasis is shifting from the raw number of wins toward responding to broad demand and focusing on high-volume, near-term leaders.
Do you foresee bottlenecks getting CityOS out globally given municipal timelines and funding?
CityOS is a comprehensive solution (sensors, compute, perception and analytics software) with ASPs much higher than automotive. Aeva won its first large-scale deployment in Georgia (30+ intersections) within months of entering the market and is focused on the U.S. for now given differing international rules. Strong state and municipal budgets to modernize traffic management support continued near-term growth.
What should we expect on announcements for the top 10 and top 5 OEMs over the next couple of calls?
The top 10 OEM production program is already won and in its first development phase, focused on enabling the OEM and AV partner to build fleets with the full FMCW-integrated stack for validation ahead of a 2028 launch. The top 5 OEM engagement is a development program working toward RFQ, and Aeva expects at least one additional automotive win this year.
You're now targeting Level 3 and even ADAS Level 2 - can you hit that lower pricing envelope?
Aeva's 4D LiDAR adds velocity, and its move toward automated production and economies of scale enables it to address higher-volume, lower-level ADAS markets. It has multiple ADAS engagements for advanced automatic-emergency-braking scenarios (nighttime, pedestrians) at roughly 100,000+ unit run rates, and expects one of those programs to make a decision this year.

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Q1 2026 call
Reported 2026-05-06 · figures from the Aeva Technologies, Inc. Q1 2026 earnings call.

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