Take your seat for the ‘Battle of the Titans’

Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats. The ‘Battle of the Titans’, the heavyweight takeover of the decade, is about to begin. The winner will be the champion of interior vehicle monitoring for the next decade, opening up billions in new revenue streams in vehicles while also preventing accidents. It should also be able to help robots care for us humans long after that. 

With the news that Mobileye has been granted non-exclusivity to market SEE technology in the Aftermarket sector, it’s clear that the company (majority owned by Intel) needs SEE’s driver monitoring technology to complement its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS). It is now able to offer a one-stop active auto safety solution to its truck and bus customer base (who according to one source currently deploy over 2m vehicles). 

I’m even willing to bet that Mobileye wanted exclusivity, but Seeing Machines preferred to play the field, as it possesses the world’s most effective driver monitoring system (DMS).

Now that the dream of fully autonomous vehicles on all our roads has been seen to be just that, a reality that is decades away, DMS has come centre stage. As Colin Barnden, analyst at Semicast, astutely realised a while back: Mobileye needed DMS, the best DMS. And it now has access to it.

With Gen 3 Guardian likely to be available from Q1 of this calendar year, it opens up the possibility of a one-stop solution for Aftermarket being available in H2 of this financial year for millions of existing Mobileye customers as well as millions more truck and bus operators in Europe who aren’t.

As the scale of the market it will capture becomes crystal clear to players (and investors) Seeing Machines’ share price should rise substantially. Explosive growth in its Aftermarket revenues will also be coupled with sizeable Auto contracts and the much-anticipated Aviation deal. Financial analysts (commonly referred to as City scribblers) will then finally start producing broker notes with spiraling upgrades, as Fund Managers pile in. Professional investors can exhibit Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) just like private investors.

What’s the timeline? It’s starting now and will be increasingly apparent with every passing month. Notably, I’m expecting a trading update on the 22nd of February with a US investor show on the 8th March. Not to mention some big contract news between now and June.

Battle of the Titans

It seems my ‘Battle of the Titans‘ prediction is slowly (oh, so slowly) coming to pass.

However, unlike a boxing contest, the battle to acquire Seeing Machines won’t be a 2-person contest with Marquis of Queensbury rules. It’s set to be a bare-knuckle bout involving strategy and multiple bidders, more akin to a contest in an episode of Alice in Borderland. As I see it, there are at least 4 main contenders:

  • Intel (majority holder in Mobileye). 
  • AMD (owner of Xilinx)
  • Qualcomm
  • Nvidia – the dark horse? 

However, lurking in the shadows are many more players who must covet the technology that Seeing Machines possesses. Some are subsidiaries of Chinese companies, such as Omnivision, but I doubt that Australia (one of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance) would allow a Chinese company to acquire such sensitive technology which could have military applications. Do the remainder have the financial muscle and nerve to outbid the above chip companies? That remains to be seen.

Once the contest really gets going, I expect one of the three ‘A’s; Apple, Alphabet and Amazon to show their hand. They have the nerve, nous and financial strength to not only outbid the above chip companies but take Seeing Machines technology to the consumer market in a huge way.

I believe that this year is finally going to be fun for holders of Seeing Machines shares. Let the contest commence.

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines.

Toyota or bid announcement?

The good news for investors in Seeing Machines is that I’m hearing from multiple sources that Seeing Machines is set to win a contract with Toyota next.

Apparently, it’s the only driver monitoring system (DMS) that is being specified in multiple Tier 1 bids – as was the case with the big BMW win recently. If true – and I see no reason to doubt my sources’ information – it just goes to further reinforce the global domination of Seeing Machines’ Fovio DMS in the auto industry.

Bid coming?

For that reason, I’m not surprised that there are now 10 market makers for the company on the London Stock Exchange, up from 4 a year ago. Most recently, Berenberg have started broking them. The better news is that I think this German bank may be acquiring shares for a company that plans to bid for Seeing Machines.

I could be wrong about that last assumption: Berenberg may be buying for a German fund. Nevertheless, various sources are warning of an imminent low ball bid – somewhere around 25p-30p a share for Seeing Machines. 

Some of my sources believe it is a Tier 1 auto supplier, others discount that theory. Interestingly, when asked about this in a previous interview back in March, Ken Kroeger did tease: “I agree it is either someone like that who can see the full value or a really diverse Tier 2 or Tier 1, as opposed to the OEM.”

While traders might be impressed by that figure, anyone with any knowledge of the auto industry and even an average understanding of Seeing Machines proven technological global dominance in driver monitoring systems shouldn’t be.

If such a bid should materialise I’ve been told by multiple sources that certain chip manufacturers (Intel/Nvidia, Xilinx and Qualcomm) would most likely be prepared to offer a lot more than a measly 30p. So I fully expect a competitive bidding situation to materialise if the rumour turns out to be fact.

Seeing Machines house brokers haven’t issued any upgrades in a long while. Still, based purely on old figures from Canaccord Genuity’s Caspar Trenchard note of Jan 9, (which excludes any figures for the huge Ford win as well as the big BMW win) it must be worth at least 59p a share. That is 30 times forecast revenues for 2019 of A$79.5m = 59p a share.

You could even argue that SEE should be on a higher multiple, such as the 42 times revenue multiple that Intel paid for Mobileye when it went for US$15.3bn. That would equate to roughly 83p a share for Seeing Machines. (This obviously ignores any value for Fleet, Rail and the Caterpillar business).

Yet, the strategic importance of Seeing Machines to the future of transport (never mind vision for robotics) will have been noted far and wide. In such a situation, I’ve been told that the chip companies are often prepared to pay up without months of haggling over the odd US$1bn. It’s small change to them when global domination is at stake.

Even Apple and Alphabet (parent of Waymo) can surely see the sense in DMS, so for what is petty cash for them they could also come in.

The writer holds shares in Seeing Machines.

Seeing Machines set to win 75% of global DMS market

Multiple industry sources are telling me that Seeing Machines’ Fovio technology is so advanced compared to rival systems that it is set to dominate the global auto market for DMS.

This market is growing fast and last year was estimated by ABI Research to be around 65m cars a year by 2020. Although I personally think this figure is now likely to prove an underestimate, given the fact that a driver monitoring system is becoming a standard feature in forthcoming car models. This trend is being driven (I love my puns) by increasing autonomy in cars, higher safety standards and legislation to reduce road deaths caused by driver inattention and drowsiness.

By my calculations, just using the 65m figure for 2020: Fovio will have at least 75% of that. As Seeing Machines (SEE) gets approximately US$25 for each car that uses its Fovio chip it should obtain annual revenues from autos of US$1.2bn.

How can I be so sure of this 75%+ figure?

Ford, Volvo and Audi

Admittedly, it is an estimate. But based on research.

I’m being told that Fovio will soon be contracted to Ford, Volvo and Audi. (That’s in addition to General Motors, Mercedes and BMW). Moreover, those same sources are telling me that by the end of this calendar year Toyota will definitely be committed to using it and, most likely, Honda.

Don’t expect absolute confirmation immediately. When they are eventually announced these contracts will be released as nameless wins, contracts for ‘premium’, ‘mass market’ country-specific OEMs. Seeing Machines will also have to be very conservative about the revenues forecast.

For those who know Seeing Machines as a perennial disappointment, a ‘jam-tomorrow’ stock, I urge them to look again at its growing dominance in the global automotive sector. This dominance in DMS now rivals that of Mobileye in external auto vision.

Fund Manager

If you don’t believe a dumb ‘ol journalist, maybe a super smart fund manager may make you look again at Seeing Machines?

Max Ward, Manager of The Independent Investment Trust, recently took a 4.46% stake in SEE. I wanted to know why and he kindly furnished me with the answer: “What attracted me to the business is the scale of the potential in the automotive division together with the evidence of clear market leadership in the DMS field.”

Previously, SEE successfully flew beneath the radar.  This was partly helped by its not having a PR agency in London, the harsh non-disclosure terms prevalent in the auto industry and the fact it was an AIM-listed minnow.

Fortunately, all that hasn’t prevented the global auto industry rushing to knock on its doors as increasing automation and safety concerns have led to tightening regulation, making its Fovio technology a vital ‘must have’ feature in future car models.

Now, at last, Seeing Machines is about to have the spotlight focused directly upon it. For dominance in global DMS makes it a very attractive strategic acquisition for big industry players.

Takeover time

Just as Mobileye was snapped up by Intel for US$15.3bn, Seeing Machines is likely to be bought fairly soon.

Indeed, I believe numerous companies now have Seeing Machines in their sights as a target this year. Who will pull the trigger first, I wonder? Names that have been mentioned to me recently include: Intel, Nvidia, Xilinx, Autoliv and Bosch.

Let the takeover battle begin.

The writer holds stock in Seeing Machines.