Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ) used its fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 earnings call to highlight what management described as a “pivotal year” marked by record revenue, improved margins, lower operating expenses, and expanded customer engagement across both automotive autonomy programs and non-automotive “Physical AI” applications.
2025 performance: record revenue, improving margins, and lower OpEx
CEO Omer Keilaf said Innoviz met its financial and operational goals for 2025, citing progress in production readiness and end-market expansion. CFO Eldar Cegla reported full-year 2025 revenue of $55.1 million, more than double the prior year’s level, supported by non-recurring engineering (NRE) revenue and LiDAR unit sales.
- Gross margin: 23% in 2025 versus approximately -5% in 2024, according to the company.
- Operating expenses: $80.6 million in 2025 versus $100.8 million in 2024, a 20% decrease.
- R&D expense: $56.5 million in 2025, down from $73.8 million in 2024, driven by cost allocation related to NRE sales and an operational realignment in the first quarter of 2025.
Cegla said Innoviz ended 2025 with approximately $72.1 million in cash equivalents, short-term deposits, and marketable securities, and no long-term debt. Cash used in operations and capital expenditures was approximately $49.3 million for the year, and $7.3 million in the quarter, which included proceeds from machinery sales. He said it was the second quarter in 2025 with single-digit cash burn, and management believes the balance sheet provides runway to reach customer start-of-production (SOP) milestones into 2027.
Daimler Truck and Torc named as Level 4 trucking customer
Keilaf said Innoviz recently disclosed that the “major commercial vehicle OEM” referenced in a prior announcement is Daimler Truck and its autonomous subsidiary Torc Robotics. Under the engagement, Innoviz will provide multiple LiDARs per vehicle for Daimler’s Level 4 (L4) Class 8 Freightliner Cascadia platform.
Management said Innoviz has already begun shipping units to support Daimler’s trucking fleet and that deployment is planned across highway and regional routes in North America. Keilaf added that Innoviz is discussing potential expansions of the relationship and noted the company is working on an ultra-long-range LiDAR it believes could be relevant to both security and trucking markets.
In Q&A, Keilaf said Innoviz was not involved in Daimler’s long-range LiDAR evaluation process at the time and only became involved when the short-range opportunity emerged.
Level 3 and Level 4 pipeline: SOP milestones and RFQ activity
Keilaf framed the current demand environment as increasingly focused on L4 fleet deployments and a renewed rise in Level 3 (L3) interest. He said that at CES, roughly two-thirds of Innoviz’s customer and prospective customer meetings were centered on L4 applications. Innoviz is working toward L4 SOPs with Mobileye, Volkswagen, and Daimler Truck, and Keilaf said the company believes it has “the most significant Level 4 Western SOPs” among LiDAR companies.
He also described a recent visit to the Volkswagen ID. Buzz production line in Germany, calling it “the first automotive series production of a Level 4 robotaxi in the world,” and said Innoviz’s suite of nine LiDARs is being installed on each vehicle. Keilaf said fleets of these vehicles are expected in six cities in the U.S. and Europe during 2026, with a ramp targeted for the second half of the year.
For L3, Keilaf said Innoviz is progressing with the Mobileye Chauffeur and related programs such as Audi, which he said is expected in 2027. He added that L3 is increasingly viewed as a KPI for upcoming vehicle designs, and Innoviz is seeing multiple RFQs for programs aiming for 2028 and beyond, including opportunities targeting behind-the-windshield deployments.
Asked about Innoviz’s outlook for two to three new wins in 2026, Keilaf said the company is active on several L4 programs it expects to “converge,” in addition to “a few” more tangible L3 opportunities. He also said L3 competitions are split between InnovizTwo for earlier-launch programs and InnovizThree for behind-the-windshield designs, with some InnovizThree decisions potentially taking until the second half of the year.
On a separate question regarding a statement of work with a top-five auto OEM, Keilaf said Innoviz has completed the SOW and is discussing next steps, but it is “unclear yet” how and when it will convert into a series production award.
Product updates: InnovizThree and non-automotive “Smart” offerings
Keilaf introduced InnovizThree as the company’s next-generation product designed for a smaller form factor and lower power consumption to enable behind-the-windshield integration, which he called the “holy grail” for automotive LiDAR. He said InnovizThree can be combined with an RGB camera as a compact sensor fusion module intended to simplify integration and deployment.
On cost, Keilaf said InnovizTwo costs approximately 70% less than InnovizOne, and that InnovizThree offers an additional 35% cost reduction versus InnovizTwo, which he said could make it compelling for L2+ applications as well.
The company also discussed its non-automotive product line:
- InnovizSMART: Based on InnovizTwo and optimized for non-automotive markets such as security, smart city, and robotics. Keilaf cited deployments of an off-the-shelf perimeter security system combining LiDAR, cameras, and analytics software across several critical infrastructure sites.
- InnovizSMARTer: An InnovizSMART LiDAR integrated with an NVIDIA Jetson Orin processor aimed at a one-box edge-compute solution for bandwidth-constrained deployments, including compression and cloud connectivity.
In Q&A, Keilaf said non-automotive customers’ functional safety requirements are largely aligned with what Innoviz has already achieved in automotive, and he emphasized InnovizTwo’s resilience to weather and dirt as a differentiator. He also described increased lead generation in security and defense-related markets, including events that he said produced “tens of opportunities” and “a few tens of leads.”
2026 outlook: revenue growth and rising non-automotive contribution
For 2026, management guided to revenue of $67 million to $73 million, implying approximately 27% growth, driven by ongoing NRE payments and ramping LiDAR shipments. The company also expects up to 10% of revenue to come from non-automotive Physical AI applications, up from approximately 1% previously discussed by management.
Keilaf said Innoviz expects to sign new NRE payment plans of $20 million to $30 million in 2026 in addition to existing plans. He added that the company’s NRE payment plans stood at approximately $111 million versus $80 million at the start of 2025; Innoviz recognized about $45 million of NRE revenue in 2025 and has $66 million remaining, which it expects to recognize “almost all” during 2026 and 2027.
On manufacturing, Keilaf said Innoviz has continued to ramp capacity at Fabrinet and expects 2026 production to be three to four times higher than last year to meet demand from automotive and non-automotive customers.
Management repeatedly tied its strategy to what it called the rise of “Physical AI,” arguing that LiDAR provides accurate, reliable data for real-world perception and “ground truth,” while also meeting privacy requirements. The company said it published the first part of a white paper on the topic, plans to release part two, and will host a webinar in March with Q&A.
About Innoviz Technologies (NASDAQ:INVZ)
Innoviz Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INVZ) is a developer of high-performance solid-state LiDAR sensors and perception software designed to support advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving applications. The company’s core business focuses on providing automotive-grade LiDAR hardware, along with software algorithms that enable accurate 3D mapping, object detection and environmental perception in real time. Innoviz’s technology is tailored for integration into passenger vehicles, commercial fleets and other mobility platforms seeking improved safety and autonomy.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Rosh Ha’ayin, Israel, Innoviz has emerged as a key supplier to leading global automakers and Tier 1 suppliers.
