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Xpeng Announces Next-gen Autonomous Driving Architecture at Auto Guangzhou 2020

First auto maker to implement Lidar technology in 2021 production models

GUANGZHOU, China–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Xpeng Inc. (“Xpeng” or the “Company”, NYSE: XPEV), a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle (“Smart EV”) company, today announced its next-generation autonomous driving architecture at Auto Guangzhou 2020.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201119006399/en/

Xpeng has significantly upgraded its autonomous driving software and hardware systems for the 2021 production models. The Company has become the first car manufacturer to adopt Lidar (laser for imaging, detection and ranging) as a new hardware component for its next-generation autonomous driving architecture, significantly improving the vehicle’s high-precision object recognition performance.

“Introducing Lidar technology into production vehicles is a breakthrough in popularizing autonomous driving, and an endorsement of our in-house R&D process. Our customers will benefit from this premium advanced technology, which makes autonomous driving more driver-friendly, safe and effective,” said He Xiaopeng, Chairman & CEO of Xpeng.

The new hardware architecture is a combination of high-definition (HD) cameras, millimeter-wave radars, ultrasonic sensors, Lidar, high-precision positioning and mapping systems, all powered by a high-performance computing platform. Equipped with a total of 32 sensors, the system provides the strongest hardware redundancy, effectively avoiding single-system failure to deliver enhanced safety protection. It will also cover more usage scenarios, effectively enabling Xpeng vehicles to perform low-speed Navigation Guided Pilot (NGP) functions for city driving.

The software architecture is based on a full-stack of in-house-developed technologies, consisting of multiple modules: perception, behavior planning, behavior/motion prediction and map fusion, among others, forming a fully closed loop of data and algorithms to support rapid functional iteration.

This next-generation autonomous driving architecture will deliver major enhancements, including:

Enhanced integrated control unit

The XPU autonomous driving intelligent control unit integrates vehicle control and parking functions, making decision-making and execution more efficient. At the same time, by streamlining the number of controllers and wiring harnesses, the weight of the system is reduced.

Improved high-precision positioning

The real-time kinematic (RTK) terminal is upgraded from 4G to 5G, supporting precise positioning with high-precision maps for high-speed roads as well as urban roads. A new positioning scheme (IMU+GNSS+RTK (5G) with high-precision maps for both highways and city roads is adopted to achieve centimeter-level accuracy. With pinpoint positioning, latency reduced to milliseconds, and a driving scenario coverage rate of over 97.5%, the scheme provides high robustness, covering a wide range of terrain, high-rise buildings and underground parking-lot occlusion scenarios.

Enhanced perception fusion

The adoption of Lidar technology will significantly improve the accuracy of horizontal and vertical position identification, and spatial resolution (super high resolution <0.1°), while offering a perception capability that is unaffected by ambient light. Through the fusion of vision + millimeter wave radar + ultrasonic sensor + Lidar, the system’s performance in target detection and measurement resolution, is significantly improved even in scenarios without sufficient lighting, delivering near-perfect perception performance.

Computing power to increase

The high-performance computing platform will also be significantly upgraded from 30 TOPS to over 200 TOPS in the future, delivering a nearly tenfold increase in computing power from ten trillion times per second to several hundred trillion times per second. The system is designed with the capacity to further increase computing power, supporting the implementation of even higher-level autonomous driving functions.

The next-generation autonomous driving architecture will achieve an advanced level of navigation-guided autonomous driving, with wide coverage of different road conditions, low manual takeover rates, and longer continuous autonomous driving times. The new system also covers multiple weather conditions and situations for city and highway driving, including urban congestion, expressways, underground parking lots, toll gates, tunnels and night driving conditions.

About XPeng

XPeng Inc. (NYSE: XPEV) is a leading Chinese smart electric vehicle company that designs, develops, manufactures, and markets Smart EVs that appeal to the large and growing base of technology-savvy middle-class consumers in China. Its mission is to drive Smart EV transformation with technology and data, shaping the mobility experience of the future. In order to optimize its customers’ mobility experience, XPeng develops in-house its full-stack autonomous driving technology and in-car intelligent operating system, as well as core vehicle systems including powertrain and the electrification/electronic architecture. XPeng is headquartered in Guangzhou, China, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, and San Diego. The Company’s Smart EVs are manufactured at plants in Zhaoqing and Zhengzhou, located in Guangdong and Henan provinces, respectively. For more information, please visit https://en.xiaopeng.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201119006399/en/

For Media Enquiries:

Marie Cheung

XPeng Inc.

Tel: +852 9750 5170 / +86 1550 7577 546

E-mail: [email protected]

KEYWORDS: China Asia Pacific

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Data Management Automotive Manufacturing Consumer Electronics Automotive Technology Manufacturing Luxury Retail Software Performance & Special Interest Hardware

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Xpeng P7 Smart Sports Sedan (Photo: Business Wire)

AVROBIO Announces Pricing of Underwritten Public Offering of $75 Million of Common Stock

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
AVROBIO, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVRO), a leading clinical-stage gene therapy company, today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 5,000,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $15.00 per share. Gross proceeds from the underwritten public offering will total approximately $75 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses payable by the company. In addition, the company has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 750,000 additional shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions. All of the shares in the offering are to be sold by the company. The offering is expected to close on or about Nov. 24, 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

Morgan Stanley, Cowen, Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering, and Wedbush PacGrow is acting as co-manager.

AVROBIO intends to use the net proceeds from the offering, in addition to its existing cash resources, to fund its current programs in Fabry disease, cystinosis, Gaucher disease type 1, Hunter syndrome, Pompe disease and Gaucher disease type 3, fund external and internal manufacturing and process development activities and fund research and development activities that relate to its current and future clinical and preclinical activities, including the cost of research and development personnel. The company intends to use the remainder for planned general and administrative expenses, working capital and other general corporate purposes.

The securities described were offered pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-235641), including a base prospectus. The securities were offered only by means of a prospectus. A preliminary prospectus supplement related to the offering was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Nov. 19, 2020, and is available on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. A final prospectus supplement will be filed with the SEC. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the securities being offered may also be obtained by contacting: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2^nd Floor, New York, NY 10014, or Cowen and Company, LLC c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY, 11717, Attn: Prospectus Department, by email at [email protected] or by telephone at (833) 297-2926.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About AVROBIO

AVROBIO, Inc. is a leading clinical-stage gene therapy company. Our clinical-stage programs include Fabry disease, Gaucher disease type 1 and cystinosis and we also are advancing preclinical programs in Hunter syndrome, Pompe disease and Gaucher disease type 3.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by words and phrases such as “aims,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “designed to,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “goal,” “intends,” “may,” “plans,” “possible,” “potential,” “seeks,” “will,” and variations of these words and phrases or similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding completion, timing and anticipated size of the offering and the anticipated use of proceeds therefrom. Any such statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Results in preclinical or early stage clinical trials may not be indicative of results from later stage or larger scale clinical trials and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place undue reliance on these statements, or the scientific data presented.

Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on AVROBIO’s current expectations, estimates and projections only as of the date of this release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, completion of the proposed public offering on the anticipated terms, or at all, market conditions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions related to the proposed public offering. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause AVROBIO’s actual results to differ materially and adversely from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in AVROBIO’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019 and our subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties, and other important factors in our other filings with the SEC, including those contained or incorporated by reference in the preliminary prospectus supplement related to the public offering filed with the SEC. AVROBIO explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the extent required by law.

 

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201119006396/en/

Investor Contact:

Christopher F. Brinzey

Westwicke, an ICR Company

339-970-2843

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Stephanie Simon

Ten Bridge Communications

617-581-9333

[email protected]

KEYWORDS: Massachusetts United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Health Genetics Clinical Trials Research Science Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

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VIQ Solutions Files Amended Q2 2020 Interim Financial Statements and YE 2019, Q1 2020 and Q2 2020 MD&A

PHOENIX, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–VIQ Solutions Inc. (“VIQ” or the “Company”) (TSX Venture Exchange: VQS and OTC Markets: VQSLF), a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services, announced today that it has refiled its interim financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, its interim management’s discussion and analysis (“MD&A”) for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, its MD&A for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and its MD&A for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 (collectively the “Amended Filings”). The Company’s revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for the respective periods covered by the Amended Filings have remained unchanged.

The Amended Filings were prepared following a continuous disclosure review by the staff of the Ontario Securities Commission (the “OSC”) of the Company’s disclosure record in connection with the Company’s previously announced $20M bought deal prospectus offering. The Amended Filings address comments received from OSC staff in order to clarify disclosure in the Company’s previous filings. In particular, the Amended Filings have been revised to:

• more clearly disclose its results of operations and the period over period change in the Company’s results of operations in the Amended Filings;
• provide additional comparative financial information and remove references to non-recurring, infrequent and unusual amounts;
• clarify and provide additional disclosure explaining non-IFRS measures presented in the Amended Filings, specifically Adjusted EBITDA and has provided a reconciliation clarifying the calculation of Adjusted EBITDA in each of the Amended Filings;
• reflect mandatory disclosures associated with the acquisitions executed during the first quarter of 2020, as well as adjustments to correct material differences associated with the accounting for business combinations, the recognition of financial instruments, government assistance and the presentation of certain financing related costs;
• provide additional disclosure relating to the Company’s liquidity and available capital resources, the Company’s critical accounting policies and estimates and the impact of seasonality on the Company’s business, as well as to restate disclosure respecting outstanding Company securities; and
• restate: (i) the Company’s enterprise value as at June 30, 2020 and the increase in the Company’s enterprise value from its enterprise value as at June 30, 2019; (ii) the year-over-year growth in the Company’s Adjusted EBITDA; (iii) the Company’s weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the six months ended June 30, 2020; and (iv) the amortization of intangible assets acquired during 2020 recognized by the Company during the three months ended June 30, 2020.

The Amended Filings are available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Audit Committee Clarification

The Company wishes to clarify that from May 2018 to November 12, 2020, the Company’s audit committee was comprised of only two members and not three as required under National Instrument 52-110. As of the date of this news release, the Company’s audit committee is comprised of the following three directors: Joseph Quarin, Michael Kessel and Harvey Gordon, each of whom is independent as such term is defined in section 1.4 of National Instrument 52-110.

About VIQ Solutions Inc.

VIQ Solutions is a global provider of secure, AI-driven, digital voice and video capture technology and transcription services. VIQ offers a seamless, comprehensive solution suite that delivers intelligent automation, enhanced with human review, to drive transformation in the way content is captured, secured, and repurposed into actionable information. The cyber-secure, AI technology and services platform are implemented in the most rigid security environments including criminal justice, legal, insurance, media, government, corporate finance, media, and transcription service provider markets, enabling them to improve the quality and accessibility of evidence, to easily identify predictive insights and to achieve digital transformation faster and at a lower cost.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201119006391/en/

Media:

Laura Haggard

Chief Marketing Officer

VIQ Solutions

Phone: (800) 263-9947

Email: [email protected]

Investor Relations:

Laura Kiernan

High Touch Investor Relations

Phone: 1-914-598-7733

Email: [email protected]

KEYWORDS: Arizona United States North America

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Software Technology Audio/Video

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Kao Named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for Seventh Consecutive Year

TOKYO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kao Corporation (TOKYO:4452) has been selected for inclusion in the 2020 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific), among the world’s most renowned socially responsible investment (SRI) indices. This is the seventh year in a row that Kao has been named to the indices.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201119005496/en/

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indices are offered cooperatively by S&P Dow Jones Indices in the United States and SAM in Switzerland to evaluate the sustainability of the world’s leading companies with regards to key areas such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. This year, 3,467 major companies were evaluated, and 318 companies were named to DJSI World. Kao received high evaluation for its efforts related to the criteria of Code of Business Conduct, Innovation Management, Product Quality and Recall Management, and Strategy for Emerging Market in the economic category, which also covers governance. Kao’s engagement with Environmental Reporting, Climate Strategy, and Packaging was lauded in the environmental category, while its commitment to Social Reporting, Corporate Citizenship and Philanthropy was highly evaluated in the social category.

The Kao Group established its ESG strategy, the Kirei Lifestyle Plan, in April 2019. Dave Muenz, executive officer for Kao’s ESG, comments, “Our inclusion in both the DJSI World and Asia Pacific once again this year is a great honor. As a company that strives to offer a Kirei Lifestyle to all—a gentle, more sustainable way of life that more and more people are seeking—this recognition will help us drive our efforts even further in integrating ESG into the core of everything we do, from product design to how we continue to conduct ourselves with the highest levels of integrity to ensure that we are a valued partner to our stakeholders around the world.”

Kao has also been included in the FTSE Blossom Japan Index and the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, both of which are used by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) of Japan for ESG investing, for four consecutive years, and in the MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN), which is also used by the GPIF, for three consecutive years. Kao has also been selected for inclusion in the S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index, which means that, this year, Kao has once again been included in all of the ESG indices^* that apply to Japanese companies and that have been selected for use by the GPIF. In addition, Kao has been selected for inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series for the 13th consecutive year, and in the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes for the fourth consecutive year.

* FTSE Blossom Japan Index, MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index, MSCI Japan Empowering Women Index (WIN), S&P/JPX Carbon Efficient Index

Kao is committed to implementing its unique ESG activities on a global level for the wholehearted satisfaction and enrichment of the lives of people worldwide and to contribute to a sustainable society.

About Kao

Kao creates high-value-added products that enrich the lives of consumers around the world. Through its portfolio of over 20 leading brands such as Attack, Bioré, Goldwell, Jergens, John Frieda, Kanebo, Laurier, Merries and Molton Brown, Kao is part of the everyday lives of people in Asia, Oceania, North America and Europe. Combined with its chemical division, which contributes to a wide range of industries, Kao generates about 1,500 billion yen in annual sales. Kao employs about 33,000 people worldwide and has 130 years of history in innovation. Please visit the Kao Group website for updated information.

https://www.kao.com/global/en/

[Related Information]

Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI)

https://www.spglobal.com/esg/csa/

Kao – Sustainability

https://www.kao.com/global/en/sustainability/

Kao launches new ESG Strategy “Kirei Lifestyle Plan” to support consumer lifestyle changes

https://www.kao.com/global/en/news/sustainability/2019/20190422-001/

Kao Integrated Report 2020

https://www.kao.com/global/en/investor-relations/library/reports/

Kao Sustainability Data Book Kirei Lifestyle Plan Progress Report 2020

https://www.kao.com/global/en/sustainability/pdf/

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201119005496/en/

Media inquiries should be directed to:

Hiwako Yoshino

Corporate Communications

Kao Corporation

Tel.: +81-3-3660-7043

KEYWORDS: United States United Kingdom Germany Switzerland Japan Ireland North America Asia Pacific Europe

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Manufacturing Health Supermarket General Health Convenience Store Cosmetics Retail Packaging Environment Home Goods Chemicals/Plastics

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