Portfolio Company Update: Guident Ltd

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR"). With the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service ("RIS"), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

5 October 2020

Tekcapital Plc

("Tekcapital", the "Company" or the "Group")

Portfolio Company Update: Guident Ltd ("Guident").

Tekcapital Plc (AIM: TEK), the UK intellectual property investment group focused on creating marketplace value from investing in university technology, is pleased to announce that portfolio company Guident has entered into a Strategic Alliance with Cirrus Core Networks, Inc ("CCN").

Guident is pleased to announce this alliance with CCN which will focus on enhance mobile connectivity with cutting-edge mobility solutions. This alliance includes providing Guident's patented, advanced teleoperation for autonomous and human-driven vehicles to enhance customer safety and security in addition to a reliable, low latency connection to any advanced mobile network. This strategic alliance is another key milestone for both companies to address a critical need in the autonomous vehicle (AV) ecosystem for the safe and successful remote monitoring and control of AV's. The parties will cover their respective costs for joint work performed under this alliance.  

Initially launched in 2014, CCN introduced a portfolio of flexibly managed mobile NFV based solutions in a disruptive pay as you grow model. The company's initial focus was to accelerate LTE and IMS network deployments.  Today CCN offers an end-to-end Network as a Service (NaaS) that is tailored to the requirements of the Mobile Network Operator, Service Provider, Enterprise, Utility and Municipality, with solutions ranging from CCN's global CBO (carrier breakout optimization) Hub to a CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) private network. This is an ideal solution to help Guident reduce the complexity of launching and operating connected Autonomous Vehicles ("AV's") through a Remote Monitoring and Control Center ("RMCC").   

"This strategic alliance between Cirrus Core Networks and Guident will be a significant step towards a low latency and secured connectivity for any Autonomous Vehicle. We are delighted to work with Guident in this exciting upcoming market segment," says Adam Crane, Co-founder, CEO of Cirrus Core Networks.

Guident provides patented artificial intelligent solutions for autonomous vehicles and ground-based delivery drones including valet systems, concierge services, remote monitoring and control and connected vehicle data sharing for active safety. Additionally, Guident's teleoperation system is designed to integrate within smart cities to improve the safety and performance of transportation in the smart city environment.

"We are very excited to announce this strategic alliance with Cirrus Core Networks and we believe that working together will enable a secured, cost-effective and speedy deployment of Guident's advanced teleoperation and control system for autonomous vehicles," says Harald Braun, Chairman & CEO of Guident.

The Market

According to Allied Market Research, ^"the autonomous vehicle market is expected to reach $556 billion by 2026 with a CAGR of 39%.¹ Contactless or "touch-free" delivery is in high demand due to the COVID 19 pandemic.^2,3 Guident believes this increased demand will accelerate the roll-out of land-based delivery drones for food and medicines to improve their availability and reduce the costs of these deliveries.

About Cirrus Core Networks

CCN was created by a core group of seasoned telecom executives sharing a common belief that Network Functions Virtualization heralds a paradigm shift in wireless. The company was launched to accelerate LTE and IMS network revenue through fast and cost-effective deployment of cloud based NFV solutions. With its current offering of IaaS fully managed packet core, IMS, content delivery and applications, CCN offers MNO's the most comprehensive and innovative solution. CCN's corporate headquarters, hosting facility and NOC are in Boca Raton, FL with additional offices and hosting facilities in London. To learn more please visit www.cirruscorenetworks.com.

About Tekcapital plc

Tekcapital creates value from investing in new, university-developed intellectual properties and provides a range of IP investment services to make it easy for organisations to commercialise university-developed technology. Tekcapital is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange (AIM: symbol TEK) and is headquartered in Oxford, in the UK. For more information, please visit www.tekcapital.com

LEI: 213800GOJTOV19FIFZ85

Tekcapital owns 100% of the share capital of Guident Ltd.

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This press release is for informational purposes only. The information herein does not constitute investment advice nor an offer to invest and may contain statements related to our future business and financial performance and future events or developments involving Guident or Tekcapital that may constitute forward-looking statements. These statements may be identified by words such as "expect," "look forward to," "anticipate" "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," "will," "project" or words of similar meaning. We may also make forward-looking statements in other reports, in presentations, in material delivered to customers, stakeholders and in press releases. In addition, our representatives may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. Such statements may be based on the current expectations and certain assumptions of Guident' and/or Tekcapital's management. Please note that these are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and factors, including, but not limited to those described in various disclosures. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialise, or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of Guident or Tekcapital may vary materially from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. Neither Guident nor Tekcapital intends, nor assumes any obligation, to update or revise these forward-looking statements in light of developments which differ from those anticipated.

References

¹ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/autonomous-vehicle-market 

² https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-safely-order-food-delivery-takeout-and-groceries-during-coronavirus-quarantines/

³ https://techcrunch.com/2020/04/01/uber-eats-beefs-up-its-grocery-delivery-offer-as-covid-19-lockdowns-continue/