The board of directors of the 2012-founded wireless testing for Internet of Everything and provides comprehensive solutions for Over the Air (OTA) measurements, General Test Systems (GTS) and TOYO Corporation (TOYO), a Japanese test and measurement pioneer have approved a plan to form a new company called AeroGT Labs Corporation. The company is chartered to leverage product solutions, market knowledge, and sales expertise from GTS, TOYO and TOYOTech, TOYO’s US subsidiary, to expand the reach of GTS’s OTA measurement solutions across the globe.
Market research firm Allied pegs the global OTA measurement market to be valued at USD 2.2 billion in the year 2022 growing to USD 3.1 billion by 2025 or a CAGR of 12%. A subsegment of the market focused on next-gen automobiles, particularly autonomous vehicles, is expected to exhibit even higher growth rates.
AeroGT will be located in Fremont, California, and will initially share office space with TOYOTech. It will have its own management team and the flexibility to implement its own strategies, allowing the company to focus and define its business activities to maximize growth.
The new company received financing commitments from GTS and TOYO to fund business activities during its initial ramp-up phase. Based on a sales pipeline developed over the past six months, AeroGT expects to be cash-flow positive by the end of its first year of operation and pay aggregate dividends to shareholders.
The transaction is expected to close in the early first quarter of 2022. When completed, GTS shareholders will own 51% of the common equity in AeroGT, and TOYOTech shareholders will own 49%. The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including final approval by said stakeholders and the approval of applicable regulatory authorities in People’s Republic of China (PRC), Japan, and the United States. GTS is a privately held company, while TOYO trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TOKYO:8151).
AeroGT is expected to become a leading provider of OTA test and measurement products and offerings that serve markets across the globe, with a particular focus on the intelligent connected vehicles, consumer electronics, and satellite and terrestrial instruments segments and verticals.
“Full-vehicle OTA testing has gotten off to a slow start in the PRC with many testing organizations waiting and watching from the sidelines. But that is all changing. Two leading research institutes made significant investments in test facilities to support OTA testing, including the Connected Vehicles (Beijing) Research Institute (CICV),” says Fang Dalong, Senior Manager of the Platform Division at CICV. “Our organization is constructing a large-scale test lab to be designated as an innovation center for connected cars; the center will emphasize automotive intelligence and networking. Technologies and solutions acquired from GTS provide the critical testing foundation and infrastructure for the lab.”
“Over the past decade, we have designed and manufactured preeminent OTA measurement solutions for a wide variety of vertical and industry segments,” states Fred Yu, chief executive officer of General Test Systems. “While we have found immense success in our home country of the PRC, we continuously look to increase our business footprint elsewhere around the world. AeroGT unlocks the value of our solutions to global markets while strengthening the competitive positioning of our technologies.”
“This is a transformative time for manufacturers that incorporate wireless technologies into their products, particularly for developers and producers of autonomous and intelligent connected vehicles,” says Toshiya Kohno, chief executive officer and president of TOYO. “We are particularly excited that large markets in the United States and the European Union will be able to benefit from the solution offerings of AeroGT.”
“The fundamental technology of AeroGT, including absorbers, antennas, and electromagnetic theory with resulting algorithms, and its integration into OTA solutions is unmatched in the industry,” declares James Drewniak, Curator’s Professor Emeritus at Missouri University of Science and Technology. “Wireless applications for devices small to large, spanning 5G mobile devices, IoT, to increasingly intelligent connected automobiles will benefit from AeroGT’s solutions supporting manufacturers’ drive to accelerate time to market.”
Bo Han, TOYOTech’s current chief executive officer, is named chief executive officer and president of AeroGT. “I am excited to lead AeroGT at this pivotal moment for the company,” states Mr. Han. “Having been part of the test and measurement industry for more than three decades, I have tremendous regard for the technologies and business acumens of TOYO and GTS that have provided the key elements to form AeroGT. We have the significant potential to help shape the future of wireless testing technology, helping to create lasting value for our customers and shareholders.”
