Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

AEye, Inc. (the “Company” or “AEye”) is a provider of high-performance, active lidar systems for vehicle autonomy, advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and robotic vision applications. AEye’s software-definable 4SightTM Intelligent Sensing Platform combines solid-state active lidar, an optionally fused low-light HD camera, and integrated deterministic artificial intelligence to capture more intelligent information with less data, enabling faster, more accurate, and more reliable perception.

On February 17, 2021, AEye Technologies, Inc., then known as AEye, Inc. (“AEye Technologies”), entered into the Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with CF Finance Acquisition Corp. III, a Delaware corporation (“CF III”), now known as AEye, Inc., and Meliora Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of CF III (“Merger Sub”). Based on CF III’s business activities, it was a “shell company” as defined under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). On August 16, 2021 (the “Closing Date”), CF III closed the business combination (the “Business Combination,” and together with the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, the “Transactions”) pursuant to the Merger Agreement, and Merger Sub was merged with and into AEye Technologies with AEye Technologies surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of CF III. On the Closing Date, and in connection with the closing of the Transactions (the “Closing”), CF III changed its name to AEye, Inc.

The Company’s common stock and public warrants are now listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) under the symbols “LIDR” and “LIDRW”, respectively. Unless otherwise specified, “we,” “us,” “our,” “AEye,” and the “Company” refers to AEye, Inc., the combined entity following the Business Combination. Refer to Note 2 for further discussion of the Business Combination.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP") and include all adjustments necessary to the fair presentation of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows for the period presented under the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") for interim financial reporting. The accompanying interim unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes have been prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP along with instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of SEC Regulation S-X.

Principle of Consolidation and Liquidity

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

The Company has funded its operations primarily through the Business Combination and issuances of stock. As of March 31, 2022, the Company’s existing sources of liquidity included cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $143.9 million. The Company has incurred losses and negative cash flows from operations. If the Company incurs additional losses in the future, it may need to raise additional capital through issuances of equity and debt. However, management believes that the Company’s existing sources of liquidity are adequate to fund its operations for at least the next 12 months.

Emerging Growth Company

The Company is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected to take advantage of the benefits of the extended transition period for new or revised financial accounting standards. This may make it difficult or impossible to compare the Company’s financial results with the financial results of another public company that is either not an emerging growth company or is an emerging growth company that has chosen not to take advantage of the extended transition period exemptions because of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant items subject to such estimates and assumptions include investments, embedded derivative and warrant liabilities, fair value of common stock, and stock-based compensation.

Segment Reporting

The Company manages its business on the basis of one reportable and operating segment. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise with separate financial information, and are evaluated regularly by the chief operating decision maker, which is our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”). The CEO decides how to allocate resources and assesses the Company’s performance based upon consolidated financial information. All of the Company's sales were made to customers (in USD) located in the United States, Europe, and Asia through AEye, Inc. Of the $5,685 of net property and equipment as of March 31, 2022, $5,657 is located in the United States and $28 is in Asia.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments which potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and accounts receivable. The Company places its cash and cash equivalents with major financial institutions, which management assesses to be of high credit quality, to limit the exposure of each investment. The Company’s marketable securities have investment grade ratings when purchased which mitigates risk.

The Company’s accounts receivables are derived from customers located in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. The Company mitigates its credit risks by performing ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial conditions. The Company generally does not require collateral.

The Company’s concentration of risk related to accounts receivable and accounts payable was determined by evaluating the number of customers and vendors accounting for 10% or more of accounts receivable (“AR”) and accounts payable (“AP”). As of March 31, 2022, AEye had four customers each accounting for 10% or more of AR and one vendor accounting for 10% or more of AP. As of December 31, 2021, AEye had one customer accounting for 10% or more of AR and two vendors accounting for 10% or more of AP. During the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, the Company did not have any write-offs and at March 31, 2022 and 2021 did not record an allowance for doubtful accounts as all accounts receivable amounts are expected to be collected.

For the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021, revenue from the Company’s major customers representing 10% or more of total revenue was as follows:

	Three months ended March 31,
	2022		2021
Customer A	58	%	*
Customer B	*		58	%
Customer C	*		29	%
Customer D	32	%	*

*Customer accounted for less than 10% of total revenue in the period.

Significant Accounting Policies

The Company's significant accounting policies are disclosed in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Other than the accounting policy discussed below related to the adoption of Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 842, Leases there have been no material change to the Company's significant accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2022.

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement is or contains a lease at inception. The Company evaluates the classification of leases at commencement, and, as necessary, at modification. Operating leases, consisting of office leases, are included in Right-of-use ("ROU") assets, Accrued expenses and other current liabilities, and Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent, on the Company's consolidated balance sheets. The Company did not have any finance leases as of March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021. ROU assets represent the Company's right to an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company's obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments made prior to lease commencement and initial direct costs and excludes lease incentives. Variable lease payments not dependent on an index or a rate are expensed as incurred and are not included within the ROU asset and lease liability calculation. Variable lease payments primarily include reimbursements of costs incurred by lessors for common area maintenance and utilities. As most of the Company's leases do not include an implicit rate, the Company uses the incremental borrowing rate based on the estimated rate of interest for collateralized borrowing over a similar term of the lease payments at commencement date in determining the present value of future payments. The incremental borrowing rate is a hypothetical rate based on the Company's understanding of what its credit rating would be for a secured borrowing when the lease was executed. The Company's lease term includes the noncancelable period, any rent-free periods provided by the lessor, and options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that it will exercise that option. At lease inception, and in subsequent periods as necessary, the Company estimates the lease term based on its assessment of extension and termination options that are reasonably certain to be exercised. Operating lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is included in operating expenses on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. The Company elected to exclude from its balance sheets recognition of leases having a term of 12 months or less (short-term leases) and elected to not separate lease components and non-lease components for its long-term real estate leases.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which has subsequently been amended by ASU No. 2018-19, ASU No. 2019-04, ASU No. 2019-05, ASU No. 2019-10, and ASU No. 2019-11. The objective of the guidance in ASU 2016-13 is to allow entities to recognize estimated credit losses in the period that the change in valuation occurs. ASU 2016-13 requires an entity to present financial assets measured on an amortized cost basis on the balance sheet net of an allowance for credit losses. Available-for-sale and held to maturity debt securities are also required to be held net of an allowance for credit losses. For public business entities, this standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. For smaller reporting companies, the standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures and will adopt the guidance on January 1, 2023 as permitted for smaller reporting companies.

Recently Adopted Accounting Guidance

In February 2016, the FASB established Topic 842, Leases, by issuing Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016-02. FASB ASC Topic 842, Leases (“ASC 842”) supersedes the previous accounting guidance for leases included within ASC 840. The new guidance generally requires an entity to recognize operating and financing lease liabilities and corresponding right-of-use assets on its balance sheet, as well as recognize the associated lease expenses on its statements of operations in a manner similar to that required under current accounting rules. The guidance requires a modified retrospective transition approach with application in all comparative periods presented (the “Comparative Method”), or alternatively, as of the effective date as the date of initial application without restating comparative period financial statements (the “Effective Date Method”).

The Company adopted the new standard on January 1, 2022 using the Effective Date Method. Upon adoption, the Company recorded net ROU assets and lease liabilities of $16,284 and $19,921, respectively, and a reversal of deferred rent of $3,032 and there were no cumulative effect adjustments as of January 1, 2022. The standard did not have a material effect on the Company's consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss and the consolidated statement of cash flows. The Company elected the transition practical expedient package, which among other things, allows the carryforward of historical lease classifications. The Company will continue to apply ASC Topic 840, Leases, prior to January 1, 2022, including Topic 840 disclosure requirements, in the comparative periods presented. The Company did not elect to apply the hindsight practical expedient, which permits entities to use hindsight in determining the lease term and assessing impairment of right-of-use assets.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. This standard simplifies the accounting for income taxes by, among other things, eliminating certain exceptions related to the approach for intra-period tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. ASU 2019-12 is effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. We have adopted ASU 2019-12 as of January 1, 2022, and our adoption did not have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.