REG - Tekcapital plc - Portfolio Company Update - Guident Ltd

TekcapitalAnnouncement

20/12/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 8242Q  Tekcapital plc  20 December 2024

 

 

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company
(Companies House registration number 08873361) to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014
("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory
Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be
in the public domain.

 

 

20 December 2024

Tekcapital plc

 ("Tekcapital" or the "Company")

Portfolio Company Update: Guident Ltd

Awarded New European Patent No. 4097550

 

Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK) the UK intellectual property investment group
focused on creating valuable products that can improve people's lives, is
pleased to announce that its portfolio company Guident Ltd ("Guident") has
received European Patent Grant No. 4097550, entitled Artificial Intelligence
Method and Apparatus for Remote Monitoring and Control of Autonomous Vehicles.

The patent is directed to an autonomous vehicle remote monitoring and control
centre (RMCC) employing distributed sensor fusion and artificial intelligence
techniques that is configured to receive sensor data across multiple
independently governed autonomous vehicles, including sensor data from
vehicles not operating under RMCC control, determine incident risk levels, and
take control of one or more of the autonomous vehicles operating at an unsafe
incident risk level, implement safety measures, and return control when the
level is safe.

 

Guident has built one of the first commercial-grade remote monitoring and
control centres for autonomous vehicles in Florida, with additional facilities
underway in Michigan, and Europe, and has developed what we believe is a
comprehensive intellectual property portfolio as illustrated below:

 

 

The adoption of autonomous vehicles (AVs) across the United States is
accelerating, and Guident welcomes the accompanying regulatory developments
that put the safety of passengers and the public at the forefront of
autonomous vehicle fleet rollouts.

 

Market Traction and Strategic Outlook

·    The Total Addressable Market for automotive active safety systems
(which includes driver monitoring) is projected to exceed $25 billion by
2030.(( 1  (#_ftn1) ))

·    Autonomous vehicles are expected to transition from embryonic to the
beginning of mainstream adoption across global markets. Waymo LLC is now
providing 150,000 paid AV trips a week(( 2  (#_ftn2) )) and Tesla, Inc. is
planning to launch its robotaxi service in 2026.(( 3  (#_ftn3) ))

·    Safety remains pivotal to the adoption of AVs for all stakeholders,
including consumers, government bodies, manufacturers, technology developers,
and AV fleet operators.

 

Harald Braun, Executive Chairman of Guident, commented:

 

"We are very excited about the recent patent and commercial progress of
Guident. We believe the timing for Guident's potential IPO next year is
excellent and our experience with remote monitoring and control coupled with
our proprietary intellectual property provides a first mover advantage."

 

Guident's RMCC in Boca Raton Florida, USA, Photo courtesy of Guident:

 

Guident will be exhibiting its RMCC teleoperations solution for autonomous
vehicles at CES Las Vegas, NV from January 7-10(th), 2025 at booth #8255.
CES® is one of the leading consumer electronics trade shows in the world
connecting innovators, decision-makers, media, influencers, visionaries, and
potential customers across the entire tech ecosystem.

 

About Guident

Guident commercializes patented technology to enable safer autonomous vehicles
and devices by providing industry-leading AV remote monitoring, control,
assistance, and passenger support services. To learn more, please visit
https://guident.com/ (https://guident.com/) .

 

About Tekcapital plc

Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed
discoveries that can enhance people's lives. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM
market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in
the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com
(http://www.tekcapital.com) .

 

Tekcapital owns 100% of the share capital of Guident Ltd. Guident Ltd. owns
approximately 91% of Guident Corp., its US subsidiary, and 100% of Revive
Energy Solutions Ltd, its UK subsidiary.

LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85

For further information, please contact:

 

 Tekcapital Plc                                                                         Via Flagstaff
 Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D.

 SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker)                          +44 (0) 20 3470 0470
 Richard Morrison/Charlie Bouverat (Corporate Finance)
 Richard Parlons/Abigail Wayne (Corporate Broking)

 Flagstaff Strategic and Investor Communications                                        +44 (0) 20 7129 1474
 Tim Thompson/Andrea Seymour/Fergus Mellon

 

General Risk Factors and Forward-Looking Statements

 

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Investors must rely on their own examination of the legal, taxation, financial
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of investing and the risks involved. Prospective investors should not treat
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information contained in this Press Release has been obtained from published
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directors, officers, employees or agents for the accuracy or completeness of
such information.

 

All statements of opinion and/or belief contained in this Press Release and
all views expressed represent the directors' own current assessment and
interpretation of information available to them as at the date of this Press
Release. In addition, this Press Release contains certain "forward-looking
statements", including but not limited to, the statements regarding the
Company's overall objectives and strategic plans, timetables and capital
expenditures. Forward-looking statements express, as at the date of this Press
Release, the Company's plans, estimates, valuations, forecasts, projections,
opinions, expectations or beliefs as to future events, results or performance.
Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, many
of which are beyond the Company's control, and there can be no assurance that
such statements will prove to be accurate. No assurance is given that such
forward looking statements or views are correct or that the objectives of the
Company will be achieved. Further, valuations of Company's portfolio
investments and net asset value can and will fluctuate over time due to a wide
variety of factors both company specific and macro-economic. Changes in net
asset values can have a significant impact on revenue and earnings of the
Company and its future prospects. As a result, the reader is cautioned not to
place reliance on these statements or views and no responsibility is accepted
by the Company or any of its directors, officers, employees or agents in
respect thereof. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking
statement or other information that is contained in this Press Release.
Neither the Company nor any of its shareholders, directors, officers, agents,
employees or advisers take any responsibility for, or will accept any
liability whether direct or indirect, express or implied, contractual,
tortious, statutory or otherwise, in respect of, the accuracy or completeness
of the information contained in this Press Release or for any of the opinions
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considered a recommendation by the Company or any of its affiliates in
relation to any prospective acquisition or disposition of shares in the
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affiliates, any of its directors, officers or employees or any other person as
to the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the information or opinions
contained in this Press Release and no responsibility or liability is accepted
for any such errors or omissions. or opinions or for any errors or
Intellectual Property Risk Factors.

 

Tekcapital's mission is to create valuable products from university
intellectual property that can improve people's lives.  Therefore, our
ability to compete in the market may be negatively affected if our portfolio
companies lose some or all of their intellectual property rights, if patent
rights that they rely on are invalidated, or if they are unable to obtain
other intellectual property rights. Our success will depend on the ability of
our portfolio companies to obtain and protect patents on their technology and
products, to protect their trade secrets, and for them to maintain their
rights to licensed intellectual property or technologies. Their patent
applications or those of our licensors may not result in the issue of patents
in the United States or other countries. Their patents or those of their
licensors may not afford meaningful protection for our technology and
products. Others may challenge their patents or those of their licensors by
proceedings such as interference, oppositions and re-examinations or in
litigation seeking to establish the invalidity of their patents. In the event
that one or more of their patents are challenged, a court may invalidate the
patent(s) or determine that the patent(s) is not enforceable, which could harm
their competitive position and ours. If one or more of our portfolio company
patents are invalidated or found to be unenforceable, or if the scope of the
claims in any of these patents is limited by a court decision, our portfolio
companies could lose certain market exclusivity afforded by patents owned or
in-licensed by us and potential competitors could more easily bring products
to the market that directly compete with our own. The uncertainties and costs
surrounding the prosecution of their patent applications, and the cost of
enforcement or defence of their issued patents could have a material adverse
effect on our business and financial condition.

 

To protect or enforce their patent rights, our portfolio companies may
initiate interference proceedings, oppositions, re-examinations or litigation
against others. However, these activities are expensive, take significant time
and divert management's attention from other business concerns. They may not
prevail in these activities. If they are not successful in these activities,
the prevailing party may obtain superior rights to our claimed inventions and
technology, which could adversely affect their ability of our portfolio
companies to successfully market and commercialise their products and
services. Claims by other companies may infringe the intellectual property
rights on which our portfolio companies rely, and if such rights are deemed to
be invalid it could adversely affect our portfolio companies and ourselves as
investors in these companies.

 

From time to time, companies may assert patent, copyright and other
intellectual proprietary rights against our portfolio company's products or
technologies. These claims can result in the future in lawsuits being brought
against our portfolio companies or their holding company. They and we may not
prevail in any lawsuits alleging patent infringement given the complex
technical issues and inherent uncertainties in intellectual property
litigation. If any of our portfolio company products, technologies or
activities, from which our portfolio companies derive or expect to derive a
substantial portion of their revenues and were found to infringe on another
company's intellectual property rights, they could be subject to an injunction
that would force the removal of such product from the market or they could be
required to redesign such product, which could be costly. They could also be
ordered to pay damages or other compensation, including punitive damages and
attorneys' fees to such other company. A negative outcome in any such
litigation could also severely disrupt the sales of their marketed products to
their customers, which in turn could harm their relationships with their
customers, their market share and their product revenues. Even if they are
ultimately successful in defending any intellectual property litigation, such
litigation is expensive and time consuming to address, will divert our
management's attention from their business and may harm their reputation and
ours.

 

Several of our portfolio companies may be subject to complex and costly
regulation and if government regulations are interpreted or enforced in a
manner adverse to them, they may be subject to enforcement actions, penalties,
exclusion, and other material limitations on their operations that could have
a negative impact on their financial performance. All of the above-listed
risks can have a material, negative affect on our net asset value, revenue,
performance and the success of our business and the portfolio companies we
have invested in.

 

 

- Ends -

 

 1  (#_ftnref1) The automotive active safety system market includes adaptive
cruise control, antilock braking system, lane departure warning, blindspot
detection, tire-pressure monitoring system, driver monitoring and night vision
systems.
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/automotive-active-safety-system-market-report

 2  (#_ftnref2)
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/29/24283127/waymo-now-does-150000-paid-trips-per-week

 3  (#_ftnref3)
https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/23/tesla-is-testing-a-robotaxi-service-that-elon-musk-claims-will-launch-next-year/

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