Lidar company Cepton is headed to CES in Las Vegas to demonstrate it's not just a speculative Silicon Valley play but rather a company with technology and contracts that offer sustainable value.
Cepton's value proposition comes from the fact General Motors is a customer and will put lidar sensors in nine of the automaker's vehicles starting in 2023. The GM contract prompted the San Jose, Calif., company to open an office in suburban Detroit to serve as its automotive business hub.
Lidar, which stands for "light detection and ranging," is a sensor technology that creates a map of the environment around it. The technology is considered an important component for automated driving and fully autonomous vehicles.
Over the past two years, when the cost of capital was cheap, Cepton and other lidar companies went public through a special purpose acquisition company. But the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes and geopolitical tensions hav…