I’m optimistic that we will see a contract with at least one Japanese car manufacturer, possibly several, announced prior to Seeing Machines’ London presentation for investors on April 2nd. 

On December 23rd, 2024 Stifel analyst Peter McNally announced in a broker note: “We see potential for significant technological synergies through the combination of Mitsubishi’s innovations with Seeing Machine’s existing, market leading offerings. We plan to take a closer look at this and the Japanese market in Q125.”

The promised note has yet to be published and, in my view, may be timed to coincide with important news of progress with Japanese car manufacturers. Given the urgent need for numerous Japanese OEMs to move ahead installing camera-based DMS/OMS into their vehicles I was already expecting some announcements in Q1 – the announcement of this event increases the probability that we’ll get news of important progress this quarter. 

The simple reason is that many Japanese OEMs, such as Toyota, appear to be behind in the race to install camera-based DMS in their premium vehicles being sold into Europe. It’s unthinkable that many of their new vehicles won’t get 5 Euro NCAP stars in 2026 yet, with the new 2026 Euro NCAP protocols coming into effect in January 1st 2026, they have less than a year to get that in place. 

So far as I am aware, the one supplier that can cost-effectively deliver a top quality DMS/OMS in that timeframe is Seeing Machines. I know Seeing Machines has a presence in Japan and my sources indicate it has certainly had conversations with many Japanese car manufacturers over the years and apparently impressed them.

Of course, I may be wrong. Therefore, it’s important to do your own research.

The writer hold stock in Seeing Machines.