Japan’s Hosiden Corporation Collaborates with Valens Semiconductor and Joins the Expanding MIPI A-PHY Ecosystem

The Japanese global provider of automotive electronic equipment components is focused on safety, supporting Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) requirements, and reducing the weight of the car body

HOD HASHARON, Israel, February 23, 2023 – Valens Semiconductor (NYSE: VLN), a premier provider of high-speed connectivity solutions for the automotive and audio-video markets, today announced that Hosiden Corporation (6804:JP), a comprehensive electronic component manufacturer, and a global player in the automotive equipment component industry, has completed the validation of Hosiden’s connectors and cables with Valens Semiconductor’s VA7000 chipset, the first in the industry MIPI A-PHY-compliant chipset family. This new milestone further demonstrates the strong momentum the MIPI A-PHY standard and the VA7000 are gaining in the automotive market in Japan.

Hosiden, uniquely positioned as an automotive Tier 1 and Tier 2 company, manufactures and sells high-speed connectors for use in high-speed digital signal transmission, and for Electric Vehicles (EV). The company also serves the medical and industrial markets.

Due to harness density and length, today’s car architecture has been pushed to its limits of space, weight, and complexity. The ability to use unshielded cables and low-cost simple connectors in a plug and play format using Valens Semiconductor VA7000 MIPI A-PHY compliant chipsets delivers reduced total system cost and an efficient solution for car makers.

“We are happy that Hosiden has joined the growing MIPI A-PHY ecosystem in Japan. This is an important milestone and follows the validation by the Japan Automotive Software Platform and Architecture (JASPAR) organization of the MIPI A-PHY specification for its network of Japanese OEMs and Tier 1s announced just a few months earlier,” said Gideon Kedem, Senior Vice President and Head of Automotive at Valens Semiconductor. “Valens Semiconductor’s VA7000 offers an unmatched combination of high-speed connectivity, bandwidth, enhanced EMC, and error free links with fundamentally zero latency, all of which are key to the evolution of ADAS and in-vehicle time sensitive applications.”

“We are excited to be part of the innovative MIPI A-PHY ecosystem, which we believe will be an important step in Hosiden’s journey as we pursue the development of growth markets and customers on a global scale, by proposing new products and technologies enabled by this advanced standard,” said Mr. Hayato Kondo, R&D Section Manager at Hosiden Corporation. “We intend to continue to support our customers through highly original technologies and high-value-added products, which meet the growing demands for ADAS. As a manufacturer of automotive electronic equipment components, our collaboration with Valens Semiconductor will enable us to boost our focus on ADAS, support EMC requirements, and lower cars’ weight, by allowing us to deploy coax cables and connectors.”

About Valens Semiconductor

Valens Semiconductor pushes the boundaries of connectivity by enabling long-reach, high-speed video and data transmission for the Audio-Video and Automotive industries. Valens’ HDBaseT® technology is the leading standard in the Audio-Video market with tens of millions of Valens’ chipsets integrated into thousands of products in a wide range of applications. Valens’ Automotive chipsets are deployed in systems manufactured by leading customers and are on the road in vehicles around the world. Valens is a key enabler of the evolution of ADAS and autonomous driving and its advanced technology is the basis for the MIPI A-PHY standard for high-speed in-vehicle connectivity. For more information, visit https://www.valens.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “target” or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our anticipated future results, including financial results, currency exchange rates, and contract wins, and future economic and market conditions. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of Valens Semiconductor’s (“Valens”) management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Valens Semiconductor.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including the cyclicality of the semiconductor industry; the effects of health epidemics, such as the recent global COVID-19 pandemic; the impact of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19 on our customers’ budgets and on economic conditions generally, as well as the length, severity of and pace of recovery following the pandemic; competition in the semiconductor industry, and the failure to introduce new technologies and products in a timely manner to compete successfully against competitors; if Valens fails to adjust its supply chain volume due to changing market conditions or fails to estimate its customers’ demand; disruptions in relationships with any one of Valens’ key customers; any difficulty selling Valens’ products if customers do not design its products into their product offerings; Valens’ dependence on winning selection processes; even if Valens succeeds in winning selection processes for its products, Valens may not generate timely or sufficient net sales or margins from those wins; sustained yield problems or other delays in the manufacturing process of products; our ability to effectively manage, invest in, grow, and retain our sales force, research and development capabilities, marketing team and other key personnel; our ability to timely adjust product prices to customers following price increase by the supply chain; our ability to adjust our inventory level due to sudden reduction in demand due to inventory buffers accrued by customers; our expectations regarding the outcome of any future litigation in which we are named as a party; our ability to adequately protect and defend our intellectual property and other proprietary rights; the market price and trading volume of the Valens ordinary shares may be volatile and could decline significantly; political, economic, governmental and tax consequences associated with our incorporation and location in Israel; and those factors discussed in Valens’ Form 20-F  filed with the SEC on March 2, 2022 under the heading “Risk Factors,” and other documents of Valens filed, or to be filed, with the SEC. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Valens does not presently know or that Valens currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Valens’ expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this press release. Valens anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause Valens’ assessments to change. However, while Valens may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Valens specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Valens’ assessment as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

Valens Semiconductor Media Contact:
Yoni Dayan
Head of Communications
Valens Semiconductor Ltd.
Yoni.dayan@valens.com

Valens Semiconductor Investor Contacts:
Daphna Golden
Vice President Investor Relations
Valens Semiconductor Ltd.
investors@valens.com

Moriah Shilton
Financial Profiles, Inc.
US: +1 310-622-8251
Valens@finprofiles.com