00:09:28 · Gianni Cuozzo
[00:09:28] S1: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, chose to partner with Headline first because they were very fast, because we were not planning to raise this round. So when you are not planning to raise the round, first thing you want is an investor that can move fast and doesn't lose your time, you know, because if you don't need money or you don't want to raise money in the first place, the last thing you want is to get involved in, you know, calls, investor call, and others. So we really appreciate the fast moving space that they had, and also the network that Headline brings. Headline is a US European fund with a lot of LPs in the automation space and stuff, so most of the LPs that are begging LP, most probably already working with Exein, so they had ease to have, you know, cross reference of how important this technology was, especially for the embedded space. It's of course a particular space, it's, you know, traditional cybersecurity is mostly happening on code security, network security, endpoints, traditional endpoint security. So for new investors already, it's always complex to find cross reference about how important this problem is, because they don't have network to move in that sense. When you find an investor that has network through their LP or through their personal connection, things evolve very quickly. And so we really appreciate the the the the fast moving on that side. And also, we were investigating a new technology, and we knew that if not racing now, but racing in one year will, of course, something that was on our plan, so we decided to... We see the movement, we decided to race now, and we appreciated the the fast moving of Headline and all the investors that are Sofina, Goldman Sachs, and the other that invested in this round. And therefore, we decided to pull the trigger, and also we are very grateful also for all previous investor that they all joining in this round, which actually show that they were particularly happy with how the company was executing. And of course, our focus now is about execution, bringing new technology to the market and providing and continue our M and A strategy.
00:11:49 · Sebastian Johnson, Gianni Cuozzo
[00:11:49] S0: And talk to me a bit about your expansion plans, so you've seen huge success in the APAC region, I think it now consists of 50% of your revenue. Yeah. As part of this new raise, think you're looking to expand in the West Coast, maybe even open an office in San Francisco? [00:12:01] S1: Yes, exactly. I mean, because we are moving in the physicalized space, we we want to be close where things happen, as you as you can imagine, and, you know, California is a a nice place for us for two reasons. First, because you have down the valley, you have all the chipset manufacturer that are involved in this transitioning, and in the Bay Area, you have also the foundational labs and also the company that are building on the physical AI layer for that. So we are opening an office in San Francisco to be close as this. We already have operation in US, but we are expanding this operation, and also we are looking for an M and A here in US, so, you know, we will be announcing pretty soon our major operation here. [00:12:45] S0: Amazing, yeah. I was interested about the M and A strategy side of things. What are you looking to buy? Is it product? Is it talent? Is it distribution? When you're assessing M and A opportunities, what's really important for you?
00:12:45 · Sebastian Johnson, Gianni Cuozzo
[00:12:45] S0: Amazing, yeah. I was interested about the M and A strategy side of things. What are you looking to buy? Is it product? Is it talent? Is it distribution? When you're assessing M and A opportunities, what's really important for you? [00:12:56] S1: I mean, I think right now, it's a little bit of a combination outside of tech, because we are particularly strong in technology development. I mean, this has been one of the, you know, top of the spear for for Exein for years because all of the technology... We are not dependent by anyone. Everything that is is part of the technology that we build is in a house is managed by us, so we are not depending by anybody... Anyone in that sense. What we are looking for is mostly talent and distribution. And of course, because right now we're living in a very fast paced market, and if you wait to build the distribution, it may be too... It take too long. Therefore, when you find a target that has the right amount of distribution, also the right amount of talent, because right now we are in a talent war and everybody's fighting for talent, you're trying to buy them, you know, and to expand. Sometimes you also buy new product that can complete the product offering that you have with your... For your customer, maybe company that you're already partnered with so that you can expand and better control what you can provide to your customers.
00:12:56 · Gianni Cuozzo, Sebastian Johnson
[00:12:56] S1: I mean, I think right now, it's a little bit of a combination outside of tech, because we are particularly strong in technology development. I mean, this has been one of the, you know, top of the spear for for Exein for years because all of the technology... We are not dependent by anyone. Everything that is is part of the technology that we build is in a house is managed by us, so we are not depending by anybody... Anyone in that sense. What we are looking for is mostly talent and distribution. And of course, because right now we're living in a very fast paced market, and if you wait to build the distribution, it may be too... It take too long. Therefore, when you find a target that has the right amount of distribution, also the right amount of talent, because right now we are in a talent war and everybody's fighting for talent, you're trying to buy them, you know, and to expand. Sometimes you also buy new product that can complete the product offering that you have with your... For your customer, maybe company that you're already partnered with so that you can expand and better control what you can provide to your customers. [00:14:09] S0: And you... You've been on this amazing journey round after round, extreme revenue growth. Now looking forward to sort of exploring new frontiers or doubling down on some new frontiers, whether it's physical AI, but also the West Coast Of America. Looking forward, six, twelve, eighteen months, what have you got to get right? Or what have you got to do to feel like you've been a success in the next year?
00:14:30 · Gianni Cuozzo
[00:14:30] S1: Yeah, of course for us success is to get more distribution here in US to starting to be the name for physical AI, you know, because we really believe that physical AI will be the next big bottle of AI because, you know, we are starting to see that code security, AI code security, AI vulnerability assessment, penetration test. It's a little bit of a solved market. It's already, you know, it's not as thrilled anymore, and where we really see the next big challenge and the next big, big battlefield will be on the security of those system that will starting surrounding us. And people will trust this evolution of market only if they trust those devices. And in order to build trust, we have to build inside the supply chain and pretty much doing again, we did in embedded, which was be part on every single supply chain, every single point of the supply chain. For us success is if we inject ourself in the physical AI supply chain from the silicon vendors to the foundational models, we already are there with the OEMs with OEMs and and the chipset manufacturers, but it's also important to us to be on the frontier labs and the foundational models that are being developed for the physical AI. So for us, it's really about... Success is really about on conquering the distribution, the supply chain, and then be the name when you think about a company that is doing physical AI. And because we're starting... We see that physical AI security... There is no CrowdStrike of Physical Eye yet. This is what we want to be, you know, being the CrowdStrike of physical systems.
00:16:14 · Sebastian Johnson, Gianni Cuozzo
[00:16:14] S0: Yeah, it's absolutely amazing. I think you've done absolutely phenomenal work. How big do you think this market is? [00:16:24] S1: Well, I think, you know, the market is endless when it comes to to physical physical eye systems, because first of all, it's not only about the device that we already starting... We already see now, and the device that most probably will be converted to physical AI system, because we are in the middle of industrial revolution, and typically when we are in the middle of industrial revolution, also all device will be updated with the physical like capabilities. So, you know, just thinking about the industrial machinery, right now you have a traditional industrial machine that is taking order and, you know, it's programmed in a specific way. Now we are starting to see conversion pack for this physical... For this system. So there is not only the greenfield, but there is also the brownfield that can be converted. So the the market is... It's it's really big. It's not only the new devices, but it's also the old devices. And there is also devices that we don't see yet on the on the... On on the market, delivery drones, humanoid robotics. We're starting to see a new class of devices. And if you are... Or... And that's why it's so important to win the supply chain because those new class of devices will be built by the supply chain that you already... You you you should inject to. That's why for us, it's really, really important to get in the sufficient because when those new devices will be produced, we will be already there.