MicroVision Pitches ‘Lidar 2.0’ Strategy, Keeps 2026 Revenue Outlook Intact

Key Points

• MicroVision is shifting to “Lidar 2.0”, a strategy focused on proving commercial value rather than just sensor performance. CEO Glen DeVos said the company wants to emphasize the right performance at the right price, with software as a key differentiator.
• The company reaffirmed its 2026 revenue outlook of $10 million to $15 million, with about 70% expected from IRIS and additional contributions from MOVIA products and engineering services. MicroVision also lowered expected cash use and raised its gross margin outlook.
• Industrial and defense are emerging as near-term growth drivers, while automotive remains a longer-term opportunity. MicroVision says it has more than 100 customer opportunities across its target markets, representing roughly $500 million in potential bookings.

Microvision NASDAQ: MVIS CEO Glen DeVos said the lidar company is trying to reposition itself around what he called “Lidar 2.0,” a strategy focused less on proving sensor technology and more on proving commercial value across automotive, industrial, and security and defense markets.

Speaking during a company presentation alongside Interim CFO Steve Hrynewich, DeVos said the first wave of lidar development was heavily hardware-focused, expensive and tied closely to expectations for automated driving adoption. That approach, he said, resulted in “very fragile revenue,” high cash burn and limited sustainability for many lidar companies.

MicroVision’s current strategy, DeVos said, is centered on delivering the “right performance at the right price” for specific use cases, designing products for cost, using software as a differentiator and diversifying revenue beyond a single market.

Portfolio Built Through Acquisitions

DeVos said MicroVision has expanded its lidar portfolio through acquisitions, including Ibeo, Scantinel Photonics and Luminar assets. He said the company now offers short-range, long-range and ultra-long-range products, spanning solid-state and scanning lidar, 940-nanometer and 1,550-nanometer technologies, and time-of-flight and frequency-modulated continuous-wave approaches.

The broader product set is intended to let MicroVision match technologies to customer applications. DeVos cited MOVIA S as a fit for industrial applications requiring near-field sensing, wide field of view and lower power. He said IRIS and HALO are suited for longer-range defense applications such as unmanned ground vehicles.

DeVos also emphasized software, saying MicroVision is moving away from treating sensors as “black boxes.” He said the company wants customers to access software and processing inside the sensor and, in some cases, put software into MicroVision products to optimize system architectures.

2026 Revenue Guidance Reaffirmed

MicroVision maintained its 2026 revenue guidance of $10 million to $15 million. DeVos said about 70% of that revenue is expected to come from IRIS, a product acquired through the Luminar acquisition, supported by 12 customers. He said MicroVision is working to convert prior Luminar customer engagements into longer-term revenue streams.

DeVos said MOVIA L and S are expected to account for about 20% of 2026 revenue. He highlighted the planned MOVIA S launch in October and said the product has more than 25 customer engagements in pre-production evaluation and proof-of-concept stages.

Ongoing engineering services are expected to contribute about 13% of revenue, with DeVos pointing to the recently announced MicroVision Semiconductor Inc. as a driver. He said the revenue mix is intended to grow beyond 2026 rather than consist of one-time purchases.

Hrynewich said MicroVision recently updated two of its three financial metrics while keeping revenue guidance unchanged. He said expected cash use from operations plus capital expenditures was reduced from a prior range of $65 million to $70 million to approximately $60 million, citing integration and synergy cost reductions. The company also updated its gross margin outlook to 35% to 40%, which Hrynewich attributed to supply agreement negotiations and a shift toward higher-priced customer sales.

Industrial and Defense Seen as Near-Term Drivers

DeVos said MicroVision is targeting three end markets: industrial, security and defense, and automotive. He described industrial as the fastest-moving market currently, driven by warehouse automation, industrial advanced driver-assistance applications and growth in robotics, including systems operating near humans that require 3D mapping.

Security and defense is also gaining momentum, DeVos said, due to increased use of drones, unmanned ground vehicles and autonomous surface platforms. He said MicroVision is already shipping to unmanned ground vehicle providers for Europe and Ukraine.

Automotive remains part of the company’s strategy, including passenger cars, robotaxis, trucking and commercial vehicles, but DeVos said it has the longest lead time to cash. He described automotive as potentially the largest total addressable market, while acknowledging that robotaxi deployments remain relatively low-volume and passenger vehicle adoption outside China is developing slowly.

Pipeline and Milestones

DeVos said MicroVision now has more than 100 meaningful customer opportunities across proof-of-concept, request-for-quote and evaluation stages. He said those opportunities span the company’s three target markets and represent roughly $500 million in booking opportunities.

Asked what investors should watch over the next 12 to 18 months, DeVos said the key milestones include converting initial customer engagements into purchase orders, supply agreements, master development agreements and production programs. He also said investors should look for reseller agreements and product progress tied to new revenue.

Hrynewich added that MicroVision expects to deliver an A-sample of the FMCW technology acquired from Scantinel around the middle of next year.

DeVos also discussed partnerships with IDI Laser and J.A. Green. He said IDI Laser gives MicroVision access to a fragmented industrial customer base without building a large sales organization, while J.A. Green helps the company navigate U.S. defense procurement and sales processes.

Software Strategy and Market Opportunity

DeVos said software is central to lowering lidar costs. He argued that solving performance challenges in hardware increases unit costs, while solving them in software requires a one-time investment. He compared the approach to developments in automotive radar and cameras, where software has helped improve performance while reducing hardware costs.

On market size, DeVos said MicroVision selected industrial, automotive, and security and defense because each has strong growth potential. He said the combined total addressable market is expected to grow from just under $10 billion in 2028 to more than $40 billion by 2035, with security and defense potentially surprising to the upside as drones and autonomous vehicles expand.

About Microvision NASDAQ: MVIS

MicroVision, Inc NASDAQ: MVIS is a technology company specializing in laser scanning and sensing solutions. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, MicroVision develops its proprietary PicoP® scanning technology, which integrates miniature lasers and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors to create high-resolution projection displays and three-dimensional sensing systems. Over the years, the company has built a portfolio of patents and intellectual property focused on precision optics and laser-based signal processing.

At the core of MicroVision's offerings is its display platform, which enables compact, energy-efficient projection for augmented reality (AR) headsets, head-up displays (HUDs) in automotive environments, and consumer electronics applications such as pico projectors.

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