Portfolio Company Update - Guident Ltd

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]
• 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] and Tesla, Inc. is planning to launch its robotaxi service in 2026.[3]
• 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 7-10th, 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

Clifford M. Gross, Ph.D.

Tim Thompson/Andrea Seymour/Fergus Mellon

General Risk Factors and Forward-Looking Statements

Investors must rely on their own examination of the legal, taxation, financial and other consequences of an investment in the Company, including the merits of investing and the risks involved. Prospective investors should not treat the contents of this Press Release as advice relating to legal, taxation or investment matters and are advised to consult their own professional advisers concerning any acquisition of shares in the Company. Certain of the information contained in this Press Release has been obtained from published sources prepared by other parties. Certain other information has been extracted from unpublished sources prepared by other parties which have been made available to the Company. The Company has not carried out an independent investigation to verify the accuracy and completeness of such third-party information. No responsibility is accepted by the Company or any of its directors, officers, employees or agents for the accuracy or completeness of such information.

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.

[1] 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] https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/29/24283127/waymo-now-does-150000-paid-trips-per-week

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