Cepton

Cepton, Inc. is an American lidar (light detection and ranging) technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. It was founded in 2016 by a team of lidar and sensing veterans — Jun Pei, Mark McCord and Winston Fu — with the goal of making high-performance, automotive-grade lidar sensors that could be manufactured at scale and priced for mass-market vehicles rather than only for limited autonomous-vehicle prototypes. Cepton's core technology is its proprietary Micro Motion Technology (MMT), a mirrorless, rotating-lens-free scanning architecture that uses a small moving optical component to steer laser beams. This design is intended to deliver high resolution and long range while keeping the sensor compact, reliable and inexpensive enough for high-volume automotive deployment. The company sells lidar sensors and perception software to automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, as well as to smart-infrastructure, industrial and other non-automotive customers. Cepton's best-known commercial relationship is with the Japanese lighting giant Koito Manufacturing, which became a strategic investor and manufacturing partner. Koito's investment and engineering collaboration helped Cepton position its lidar for series-production automotive programs, most notably a large-scale ADAS lidar award from General Motors. Cepton went public in 2022 via a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company and traded on Nasdaq under the ticker CPTN. In 2025, Koito moved to take Cepton private, acquiring the shares it did not already own and delisting the company. Cepton continues to operate as a Koito Group company, focused on automotive lidar for ADAS and autonomous driving, alongside smart-infrastructure and industrial sensing applications. Its positioning is that of a high-volume, cost-conscious automotive lidar supplier rather than a low-volume research or robotics-only vendor.

Cepton was founded in 2016 in Silicon Valley by Jun Pei, Mark McCord and Winston Fu, a team with deep experience in lidar, optics and semiconductor sensing. From the outset the company pursued a different technical path from the bulky mechanical spinning lidars used in early autonomous-vehicle prototypes: its Micro Motion Technology (MMT) uses a small, enclosed moving optical element to scan laser beams, aiming to combine high performance with the compactness, durability and low cost required for automotive series production. Cepton built its business around automotive OEM and Tier 1 customers, while also addressing smart-infrastructure, industrial and mapping applications. A pivotal relationship was with Koito Manufacturing, the Japanese automotive lighting supplier, which invested in Cepton and became a manufacturing and engineering partner. Koito's backing helped Cepton win and support large automotive programs, including a significant ADAS lidar award from General Motors — one of the largest publicly announced lidar series-production deals in the industry. In 2022 Cepton became a public company through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company, listing on Nasdaq under the ticker CPTN. As a public company it continued to develop its Ultra-series long-range lidar and to expand manufacturing capacity with Koito. The lidar sector, however, proved volatile, with consolidation and financing pressure across the industry. In 2025 Koito moved to take Cepton private, acquiring the shares it did not already own and delisting the company from Nasdaq. Cepton continues to operate within the Koito Group, focused on automotive lidar for ADAS and autonomous driving as well as smart-infrastructure and industrial sensing.

• Cepton founded in Silicon Valley by Jun Pei, Mark McCord and Winston Fu

• Koito Manufacturing makes a strategic investment in Cepton

• Cepton announces a large ADAS lidar series-production award from General Motors

• Cepton lists on Nasdaq via SPAC merger under ticker CPTN

• Koito takes Cepton private and delists it from Nasdaq

High-volume, automotive-grade lidar supplier focused on cost-effective ADAS and autonomous-driving sensing, backed by Koito.

• Ultra-series lidar

  Long-range automotive lidar designed for ADAS and autonomous driving at series-production volumes.

• Vista-series lidar

  Compact lidar sensors used in automotive and non-automotive sensing applications.

• Micro Motion Technology (MMT)

  Cepton's proprietary mirrorless, rotating-lens-free scanning architecture.

1. 1Cepton official websitecepton.com
2. 2Cepton introduces the world’s smallest wide field of view lidar sensor for near-range applicationseejournal.com
3. 3Cepton Technologies, Inc.: Barrier1 Systems Partners With Cepton to Deploy State-of-the-art Lidar-based Security and Safety Systems for Global Customersfinanznachrichten.de
4. 4Cepton Unveils New High-Resolution, Long-Range LiDARelectronicdesign.com
5. 5Cepton宣布与美国底特律顶级汽车制造商合作，赢得业内最大ADAS激光雷达量产订单finance.sina.com.cn