Technology
Stoneridge Reports First Quarter 2025 Results
Published
1 year agoon
By
Strong Quarter-to-Quarter Margin Progression
MirrorEye® and SMART 2 Tachograph Set Quarterly Sales Records
Maintaining Previously Provided Full-Year 2025 Guidance
2025 First Quarter Results
Sales of $217.9 millionGross profit of $46.3 million (21.2% of sales)Adjusted gross profit of $47.7 million (21.9% of sales)Operating loss of $(3.2) million ((1.5)% of sales)Adjusted operating loss of $(0.4) million ((0.2)% of sales)Net loss of $(7.2) million ((3.3)% of sales)Adjusted net loss of $(5.1) million ((2.4)% of sales)Adjusted EBITDA of $7.6 million (3.5% of sales)
2025 Full-Year Guidance
Maintaining previously provided full-year 2025 guidance ranges
NOVI, Mich., April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Stoneridge, Inc. (NYSE: SRI) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2025.
The Company announced first quarter sales of $217.9 million, gross profit of $46.3 million (21.2% of sales) and adjusted gross profit of $47.7 million (21.9% of sales). Operating loss was $(3.2) million ((1.5)% of sales) while adjusted operating loss was $(0.4) million ((0.2)% of sales). Net loss was $(7.2) million and adjusted net loss was $(5.1) million. Loss per share (EPS) was $(0.26) and adjusted EPS was $(0.19). Adjusted EBITDA was $7.6 million (3.5% of sales).
The exhibits attached hereto provide reconciliation detail on normalizing adjustments of non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release.
Jim Zizelman, president and chief executive officer, commented, “During the first quarter, we drove significant margin expansion by continuing to focus on material cost improvement and reduced quality-related costs, resulting in quarter-to-quarter operating margin performance improvement in all of our segments. Overall adjusted gross margin improved by 210 basis points driven by material cost improvement and a $2.5 million reduction in quality-related costs relative to the fourth quarter of last year. First quarter adjusted EBITDA was $7.6 million, an improvement of $1.6 million over the fourth quarter. Finally, our focus on cash and inventory management drove positive free cash flow of approximately $4.9 million, an increase of approximately $1.5 million versus the first quarter of last year. Sales remained flat relative to the fourth quarter of last year, as expected, highlighted by record quarterly sales for both MirrorEye and SMART 2, including a 24% increase in MirrorEye sales as previously launched OEM programs continued to ramp-up, along with strong sales in the global bus market.”
Zizelman concluded, “We continue to monitor potential direct and indirect impacts related to tariffs. Although we saw very little direct impact of tariffs in the first quarter, we continued to implement mitigation strategies to further offset potential tariffs that have been discussed or are scheduled to be implemented. Our primary tariff exposure is related to products manufactured in our Juarez, Mexico facility and sold to U.S. customers receiving the product for U.S. consumption. Approximately 91% of these product sales are USMCA certified and are currently not subject to tariffs. Additionally, we have successfully addressed most of the complexities in component purchases through the strength of our current supply chain structure. We have and will continue to implement mitigation activities for existing and proposed tariffs through strategic supply chain sourcing and customer pricing strategies to mitigate any cost increases that may occur. For example, we have already secured, or are well down the path of securing, price increases with certain customers that have products that are impacted by tariffs. That said, we recognize that there is increased uncertainty in consumer demand and production volumes caused by the implementation of the tariffs. We will continue to monitor shifts in macroeconomic policies and the impacts on our business to ensure that we act quickly to offset any incremental costs, as we have done historically.”
First Quarter in Review
Electronics first quarter sales of $140.5 million decreased by 6.0% relative to the fourth quarter of 2024. This was primarily driven by lower production volumes in the commercial vehicle end market and lower off-highway sales, offset by the continued growth of MirrorEye and continued strong demand for the Company’s next generation tachograph, the SMART 2. First quarter adjusted operating margin of 4.9% increased by 130 basis points relative to the fourth quarter of 2024, due in part to lower quality-related costs.
Control Devices first quarter sales of $69.9 million increased by 10.6% relative to the fourth quarter of 2024 driven by higher production volumes for the Company’s North American passenger vehicle customers. First quarter adjusted operating margin of 2.2% increased by 470 basis points relative to the fourth quarter of 2024, primarily due to contribution on higher sales as well as lower D&D and reduced quality-related costs.
Stoneridge Brazil first quarter sales of $14.4 million increased by $2.0 million, or 15.9%, relative to the fourth quarter of 2024, driven by higher OEM sales. First quarter operating income of $0.6 million increased by approximately $0.5 million relative to the fourth quarter of 2024, primarily due to contribution on higher sales.
Relative to the first quarter of 2024, Electronics first quarter sales decreased by 10.0%. This decrease was primarily driven by lower production volumes in the North American and European commercial vehicle end markets, partially mitigated by higher MirrorEye revenue, including the ramp-up of recently launched OEM programs and higher sales for the SMART 2 tachograph. First quarter adjusted operating margin of 4.9% increased by 40 basis points relative to the first quarter of 2024, driven by improved gross margin offset by higher D&D expense as customer reimbursements declined more than spending, as well as lower contribution from lower sales.
Relative to the first quarter of 2024, Control Devices first quarter sales decreased by 10.4%. This decrease was primarily due to lower customer production volumes in the North American passenger vehicle end market, as well as the expected wind-down of end-of-life programs. First quarter adjusted operating margin of 2.2% decreased by 60 basis points relative to the first quarter of 2024, primarily due to reduced contribution on lower sales, partially offset by lower D&D and reduced quality-related costs.
Relative to the first quarter of 2024, Stoneridge Brazil first quarter sales increased by $2.2 million, or 18.0%. This increase was primarily driven by higher OEM product sales. First quarter operating income of $0.6 million increased by approximately $0.4 million relative to the first quarter of 2024.
Cash and Debt Balances
As of March 31, 2025, Stoneridge had cash and cash equivalents totaling $79.1 million and total debt of $203.2 million. During the first quarter of 2025, the Company generated $10.9 million in net cash provided by operating activities and $4.9 million in free cash flow, an increase of $1.8 million and $1.5 million, respectively, over the first quarter of 2024.
For Credit Facility compliance purposes, adjusted net debt was $148.9 million while adjusted EBITDA for the trailing twelve months was $37.5 million, resulting in an adjusted net debt to trailing twelve-month EBITDA compliance leverage ratio of 3.97x relative to a required leverage ratio of not greater than 6.00x as per the amended Credit Facility agreement.
The Company continues to expect to remain compliant with all amended compliance ratios and is maintaining the previously communicated targeted compliance net debt to EBITDA leverage ratio of 2.0x to 2.5x by the end of the year, relative to a 3.50x leverage ratio requirement by the end of the year.
2025 and Future Outlook
The Company is maintaining its guidance ranges for its full-year 2025 performance including sales guidance of $860 million to $890 million, adjusted gross margin guidance of 22.0% to 22.5%, adjusted operating margin guidance of 0.75% to 1.25%, and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $38 million to $42 million, or approximately 4.4% to 4.7% of sales. The Company is also maintaining its full-year 2025 guidance for free cash flow of $25 million to $30 million.
Matt Horvath, chief financial officer, commented, “We delivered a strong first quarter that exceeded our previously outlined expectations across each of our key metrics. Operating margins improved compared to the previous quarter in each of our segments driven by lower quality-related costs, material cost reductions, structural cost control and our long-standing focus on operational excellence. Sales for our key growth products achieved record sales and cash performance exceeded our expectations as we remain focused on working capital improvement through inventory management and strict management of capital expenditures.”
Horvath continued, “We are taking a deliberate and thoughtful approach for the remainder of the year as we expect some volatility in our end markets and supply chains as a result of volatile macroeconomic and political factors, including tariff uncertainties. That said, we are maintaining our full-year guidance ranges based on our first quarter outperformance and run-rate margin improvement, as well as our original, relatively conservative assumptions related to vehicle production volumes. Even considering the most recent external production forecasts, we expect to perform within our previously provided EBITDA guidance range. Consistent with the outperformance we saw in the first quarter, we expect continued progress on our material cost improvement initiatives and quality-related costs for the remainder of the year. We will continue to manage structural costs and make adjustments as necessary to align our operating structure with current market conditions.”
Horvath concluded, “We remain focused on building a strong foundation for continued earnings expansion as we capitalize on our impressive portfolio of advanced technologies. Stoneridge remains well positioned to continue to outperform our underlying markets and drive margin expansion resulting in long-term shareholder value creation.”
Conference Call on the Web
A live Internet broadcast of Stoneridge’s conference call regarding 2025 first quarter results can be accessed at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, May 1, 2025, at www.stoneridge.com, which will also offer a webcast replay.
About Stoneridge, Inc.
Stoneridge, Inc., headquartered in Novi, Michigan, is a global supplier of safe and efficient electronic systems and technologies. Our systems and products power vehicle intelligence, while enabling safety and security for on- and off-highway transportation sectors around the world. Additional information about Stoneridge can be found at www.stoneridge.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release contain “forward-looking statements” under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements appear in a number of places in this report and may include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, with respect to, among other things, our (i) future product and facility expansion, (ii) acquisition strategy, (iii) investments and new product development, (iv) growth opportunities related to awarded business, and (v) operational expectations. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words “will,” “may,” “should,” “designed to,” “believes,” “plans,” “projects,” “intends,” “expects,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “continue,” and similar words and expressions. The forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, among other factors:
the ability of our suppliers to supply us with parts and components at competitive prices on a timely basis, including the impact of potential tariffs and trade considerations on their operations and output;fluctuations in the cost and availability of key materials and components (including semiconductors, printed circuit boards, resin, aluminum, steel and copper) and our ability to offset cost increases through negotiated price increases with our customers or other cost reduction actions, as necessary;global economic trends, competition and geopolitical risks, including impacts from ongoing or potential global conflicts and any related sanctions and other measures, or an escalation of sanctions, tariffs or other trade tensions between the U.S. and other countries;tariffs specifically in countries where we have significant direct or indirect manufacturing or supply chain exposure and our ability to either mitigate the impact of tariffs or pass any incremental costs to our customers;our ability to achieve cost reductions that offset or exceed customer-mandated selling price reductions;the reduced purchases, loss, financial distress or bankruptcy of a major customer or supplier;the costs and timing of business realignment, facility closures or similar actions;a significant change in commercial, automotive, off-highway or agricultural vehicle production;competitive market conditions and resulting effects on sales and pricing;foreign currency fluctuations and our ability to manage those impacts;customer acceptance of new products;our ability to successfully launch/produce products for awarded business;adverse changes in laws, government regulations or market conditions affecting our products, our suppliers, or our customers’ products;our ability to protect our intellectual property and successfully defend against assertions made against us;liabilities arising from warranty claims, product recall or field actions, product liability and legal proceedings to which we are or may become a party, or the impact of product recall or field actions on our customers;labor disruptions at our facilities, or at any of our significant customers or suppliers;business disruptions due to natural disasters or other disasters outside of our control;the amount of our indebtedness and the restrictive covenants contained in the agreements governing our indebtedness, including our revolving Credit Facility;capital availability or costs, including changes in interest rates;the failure to achieve the successful integration of any acquired company or business;risks related to a failure of our information technology systems and networks, and risks associated with current and emerging technology threats and damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, cyber-attack and other similar disruptions; andthe items described in Part I, Item IA (“Risk Factors”) in the Company’s 2024 Form 10-K.
The forward-looking statements contained herein represent our estimates only as of the date of this release and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, whether to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, changes in other factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
This press release contains information about the Company’s financial results that is not presented in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). Such non-GAAP financial measures are reconciled to their closest GAAP financial measures at the end of this press release. The provision of these non-GAAP financial measures for 2025 and 2024 is not intended to indicate that Stoneridge is explicitly or implicitly providing projections on those non-GAAP financial measures, and actual results for such measures are likely to vary from those presented. The reconciliations include all information reasonably available to the Company at the date of this press release and the adjustments that management can reasonably predict.
In evaluating its business, the Company considers and uses free cash flow and net debt as supplemental measures of its liquidity and the other non-GAAP financial measures as supplemental measures of its operating performance. Management believes the non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release are useful to both management and investors in their analysis of the Company’s financial position and results of operations. In particular, management believes that adjusted gross profit and margin, adjusted operating income (loss) and margin, adjusted income (loss) before tax, adjusted income tax expense (benefit), adjusted net income (loss), adjusted EPS, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted debt, adjusted net debt, adjusted cash and free cash flow are useful measures in assessing the Company’s financial performance by excluding certain items that are not indicative of the Company’s core operating performance or that may obscure trends useful in evaluating the Company’s continuing operating activities. Management also believes that these measures are useful to both management and investors in their analysis of the Company’s results of operations and provide improved comparability between fiscal periods.
Adjusted gross profit and margin, adjusted operating income (loss) and margin, adjusted income (loss) before tax, adjusted income tax expense (benefit), adjusted net income (loss), adjusted EPS, EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted debt, adjusted net debt, adjusted cash and free cash flow should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for gross profit, operating income (loss), income (loss) before tax, income tax expense (benefit), net income (loss), EPS, debt, cash and cash equivalents, cash provided by operating activities or other income statement or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands)
March 31,
2025
December 31,
2024
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 79,109
$ 71,832
Accounts receivable, less reserves of $699 and $1,060, respectively
156,683
137,766
Inventories, net
151,794
151,337
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
30,435
26,579
Total current assets
418,021
387,514
Long-term assets:
Property, plant and equipment, net
99,289
97,667
Intangible assets, net
41,260
39,677
Goodwill
34,610
33,085
Operating lease right-of-use asset
9,607
10,050
Investments and other long-term assets, net
54,572
53,563
Total long-term assets
239,338
234,042
Total assets
$ 657,359
$ 621,556
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 97,037
$ 83,478
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
78,127
66,494
Total current liabilities
175,164
149,972
Long-term liabilities:
Revolving credit facility
203,186
201,577
Deferred income taxes
5,344
5,321
Operating lease long-term liability
6,186
6,484
Other long-term liabilities
14,383
12,942
Total long-term liabilities
229,099
226,324
Shareholders’ equity:
Preferred Shares, without par value, 5,000 shares authorized, none issued
—
—
Common Shares, without par value, 60,000 shares authorized, 28,966 and 28,966
shares issued and 27,846 and 27,695 shares outstanding at March 31,2025 and
December 31, 2024, respectively, with no stated value
—
—
Additional paid-in capital
221,130
225,712
Common Shares held in treasury, 1,120 and 1,271 shares at March 31,2025 and
December 31, 2024, respectively, at cost
(32,936)
(38,424)
Retained earnings
172,789
179,985
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(107,887)
(122,013)
Total shareholders’ equity
253,096
245,260
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity
$ 657,359
$ 621,556
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Three months ended
March 31,
(in thousands, except per share data)
2025
2024
Net sales
$ 217,890
$ 239,157
Costs and expenses:
Cost of goods sold
171,593
190,800
Selling, general and administrative
31,696
30,423
Design and development
17,826
17,603
Operating (loss) income
(3,225)
331
Interest expense, net
3,167
3,634
Equity in (earnings) loss of investee
(294)
277
Other (income) expense, net
(466)
2,036
Loss before income taxes
(5,632)
(5,616)
Provision for income taxes
1,564
510
Net loss
$ (7,196)
$ (6,126)
Loss per share:
Basic
$ (0.26)
$ (0.22)
Diluted
$ (0.26)
$ (0.22)
Weighted-average shares outstanding:
Basic
27,680
27,529
Diluted
27,680
27,529
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
Three months ended March 31, (in thousands)
2025
2024
OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net loss
$ (7,196)
$ (6,126)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by (used for) operating activities:
Depreciation
5,428
6,601
Amortization, including accretion of deferred financing costs
2,054
2,164
Deferred income taxes
(402)
(2,279)
(Earnings) loss of equity method investee
(294)
277
Loss on sale of fixed assets
4
266
Share-based compensation expense
1,136
1,092
Excess tax deficiency related to share-based compensation expense
440
230
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net
(14,610)
(6,676)
Inventories, net
5,263
3,699
Prepaid expenses and other assets
(1,379)
1,377
Accounts payable
10,792
(709)
Accrued expenses and other liabilities
9,661
9,193
Net cash provided by operating activities
10,897
9,109
INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Capital expenditures, including intangibles
(6,070)
(5,795)
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets
82
81
Net cash used for investing activities
(5,988)
(5,714)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Revolving credit facility borrowings
—
30,500
Revolving credit facility payments
—
(24,500)
Proceeds from issuance of debt
6,699
7,798
Repayments of debt
(7,260)
(7,790)
Repurchase of Common Shares to satisfy employee tax withholding
(226)
(620)
Net cash (used for) provided by financing activities
(787)
5,388
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
3,155
(1,184)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents
7,277
7,599
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
71,832
40,841
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
$ 79,109
$ 48,440
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash paid for interest, net
$ 3,309
$ 4,194
Cash paid for income taxes, net
$ 1,852
$ 2,653
Regulation G Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliations
Exhibit 1 – Reconciliation of Adjusted Gross Profit
(USD in millions)
Q1 2024
Q1 2025
Gross Profit
$ 48.4
$ 46.3
Add: Pre-Tax Business Realignment Costs
—
1.4
Adjusted Gross Profit
$ 48.4
$ 47.7
Exhibit 2 – Reconciliation of Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)
(USD in millions)
Q1 2024
Q1 2025
Operating Income (Loss)
$ 0.3
$ (3.2)
Add: Pre-Tax Business Realignment Costs
—
2.8
Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)
$ 0.3
$ (0.4)
Exhibit 3 – Reconciliation of Adjusted Tax Rate
(USD in millions)
Q1 2025
Tax Rate
Loss Before Tax
$ (5.6)
Add: Pre-Tax Business Realignment Costs
2.8
Adjusted Loss Before Tax
$ (2.8)
Income Tax Expense
$ 1.6
(27.8) %
Add: Tax Impact from Pre-Tax Adjustments
0.8
Adjusted Income Tax Expense on Adjusted Loss Before Tax
$ 2.3
(82.6) %
Exhibit 4 – Reconciliation of Adjusted Net Loss and EPS
(USD in millions, except EPS)
Q1 2025
Q1 2025 EPS
Net Loss
$ (7.2)
$ (0.26)
Add: After-Tax Business Realignment Costs
2.1
0.07
Adjusted Net Loss
$ (5.1)
$ (0.19)
Exhibit 5 – Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA
(USD in millions)
Q1 2024
Q2 2024
Q3 2024
Q4 2024
Q1 2025
Income (Loss) Before Tax
$ (5.6)
$ 1.9
$ (3.7)
$ (6.2)
$ (5.6)
Interest expense, net
3.6
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
Depreciation and amortization
8.6
8.5
8.8
8.3
7.3
EBITDA
$ 6.6
$ 14.2
$ 8.8
$ 5.5
$ 4.8
Add: Pre-Tax Business Realignment Costs
—
1.9
0.3
0.4
2.8
Add: Pre-Tax Environmental Remediation Costs
—
—
0.2
—
—
Adjusted EBITDA
$ 6.6
$ 16.1
$ 9.2
$ 6.0
$ 7.6
Exhibit 6 – Segment Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)
Reconciliation of Control Devices Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)
(USD in millions)
Q1 2024
Q4 2024
Q1 2025
Control Devices Operating Income (Loss)
$ 2.2
$ (1.8)
$ 1.2
Add: Pre-Tax Business Realignment Costs
—
0.2
0.4
Control Devices Adjusted Operating Income (Loss)
$ 2.2
$ (1.6)
$ 1.5
Reconciliation of Electronics Adjusted Operating Income
(USD in millions)
Q1 2024
Q4 2024
Q1 2025
Electronics Operating Income
$ 7.1
$ 5.1
$ 5.5
Add: Pre-Tax Business Realignment Costs
—
0.2
1.4
Electronics Adjusted Operating Income
$ 7.1
$ 5.3
$ 6.9
Exhibit 7 – Reconciliation of Free Cash Flow
(USD in millions)
Q1 2024
Q1 2025
Cash Flow from Operating Activities
$ 9.1
$ 10.9
Capital Expenditures, including Intangibles
(5.8)
(6.1)
Proceeds from Sale of Fixed Assets
0.1
0.1
Free Cash Flow
$ 3.4
$ 4.9
Exhibit 8 – Reconciliation of Compliance Leverage Ratio
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA for Compliance Calculation
(USD in millions)
Q2 2024
Q3 2024
Q4 2024
Q1 2025
Income (Loss) Before Tax
$ 1.9
$ (3.7)
$ (6.2)
$ (5.6)
Interest Expense, net
3.8
3.6
3.4
3.2
Depreciation and Amortization
8.5
8.8
8.3
7.3
EBITDA
$ 14.2
$ 8.8
$ 5.5
$ 4.8
Compliance adjustments:
Add: Non-Cash Impairment Charges and Write-offs or Write
Downs
—
—
0.4
—
Add: Adjustments from Foreign Currency Impact
(2.4)
(0.6)
(1.1)
(2.1)
Add: Extraordinary, Non-recurring or Unusual Items
—
—
—
—
Add: Cash Restructuring Charges
0.5
0.7
0.3
1.6
Add: Charges for Transactions, Amendments, and Refinances
—
—
—
—
Add: Adjustment to Autotech Fund II Investment
0.1
0.8
0.2
(0.3)
Add: Accrual-based Expenses
7.1
1.3
6.4
7.3
Less: Cash Payments for Accrual-based Expenses
(3.7)
(3.3)
(2.8)
(6.1)
Adjusted EBITDA (Compliance)
$ 15.8
$ 7.6
$ 8.9
$ 5.3
Adjusted TTM EBITDA (Compliance)
$ 37.5
Reconciliation of Adjusted Cash for Compliance Calculation
(USD in millions)
Q1 2025
Total Cash and Cash Equivalents
$ 79.1
Less: 35% of Cash in Foreign Locations
(23.3)
Total Adjusted Cash (Compliance)
$ 55.8
Reconciliation of Adjusted Debt for Compliance Calculation
(USD in millions)
Q1 2025
Total Debt
$ 203.2
Outstanding Letters of Credit
1.5
Total Adjusted Debt (Compliance)
$ 204.7
Adjusted Net Debt (Compliance)
$ 148.9
Compliance Leverage Ratio (Net Debt / TTM EBITDA)
3.97x
Compliance Leverage Ratio Maximum Requirement
6.00x
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SOURCE Stoneridge, Inc.
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TAIPEI, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cherubic Ventures today announced the close of its sixth fund (Fund VI) at $68.88 million. The fund size reflects the auspicious meaning of the number eight in East Asian cultures, where it is traditionally associated with prosperity and good fortune. With this close, assets under management across the firm’s six funds have surpassed US$500 million.
Investors across all six funds include leading global institutional investors and foundations, as well as publicly listed companies, family offices, successful entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals.
Fund VI maintains the firm’s early-stage focus, investing in AI-native companies across infrastructure, developer tools, enterprise software, healthcare, physical AI and robotics. Sudo AI, a robotics startup in the portfolio, has reached a valuation of nearly $2 billion two years after its founding, joining the ranks of unicorns.
“After ten years, I am more certain than ever about why I chose to invest at the earliest stages,” said Matt Cheng, Founder & Solo GP of Cherubic Ventures. “Working alongside exceptional founders, finding a path through uncertainty, and ultimately changing an industry is what keeps driving me.”
Investing Across AI, From Infrastructure to Industry Applications
As AI reshapes industries, Cherubic Ventures continues to look for founders using the technology to build new products and redefine markets. Since 2024, the firm’s AI-native investments have spanned infrastructure, developer tools, enterprise software, healthcare, physical AI and robotics.
In robotics, Sudo AI was co-founded by Hao Su, a leading researcher in embodied AI and 3D vision and co-author of PointNet, and serial entrepreneur Robin Han. Its sudo R1 robotic system is trained through virtual simulation and can reliably handle objects it has never encountered without relying on real-world manipulation data. This addresses a key bottleneck to deploying robotics at scale. Cherubic Ventures was its earliest institutional investor.
Cherubic Ventures is also an early investor in Entire, the developer platform founded by former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. The company raised US$60 million earlier this year, the largest seed round ever for a developer tools startup.
While Fund VI is still at an early stage, its portfolio companies have already raised more than $500 million in subsequent funding. Other notable investments include AI-powered patent technology platform Patlytics, along with healthcare and drug development companies Max AI, Generation Lab and therapiAI.
A Decade Alongside Founders, Supporting the Next Generation
Founded in 2015, Cherubic Ventures was among the first venture firms in the world to adopt the solo GP model. It has invested in more than 200 companies globally, with early investments including Hims & Hers, Flexport, Calm, Paidy, 91APP and Astranis.
Across its portfolio, Cherubic Ventures has been the earliest institutional investors in dozens of companies that went on to become unicorns. Hims & Hers is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and 91APP on the Taipei Exchange, while Paidy was acquired by PayPal for US$2.7 billion.
Fund VI marks the beginning of Cherubic Ventures’ second decade. “The past ten years have made me more certain that believing in founders before the answers are clear, and backing them through uncertainty, is at the heart of early-stage investing,” Cheng said. “In the next decade, we will continue to ‘Stay Early’ and work with the most exceptional founders to build the future we want to see.”
About Cherubic Ventures
Founded in 2015, Cherubic Ventures is a global early-stage venture capital firm that started in Taipei and has built a strong presence in the U.S. market. The firm backs outstanding founders from day one and was among the first venture firms in the world to adopt the solo GP model. Notable investments include Hims & Hers, Calm, Flexport, 91APP, Paidy, Formation Bio and Astranis. To date, Cherubic Ventures has invested in more than 200 startups and brings together more than 500 founders and investors in a distinctive global community.
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SOURCE Cherubic Ventures
Technology
Agentic AI Has Arrived. Is Your Workforce Ready to Leverage It?
Published
10 minutes agoon
September 1, 2026By
Enterprises are deploying AI agents faster than they are building the certified talent to run them. Closing that gap is now the real differentiator.
Authored by, Vikas Mathur, Vice President, Trainocate India
MUMBAI, India, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Across the enterprise programs we run every week at Trainocate, the conversation has changed. A year ago, leaders asked us what generative AI could do. Today they ask why their agentic pilot has not reached production. Agentic AI has arrived — the question is no longer whether it works, but whether the workforce is ready to leverage it.
The platforms have done their part. AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Databricks and others have moved agent frameworks, orchestration layers and governance tooling into general availability. What has not kept pace is the workforce. Adoption forecasts keep climbing; the cancellation forecasts climb with them, and for reasons that have little to do with the models themselves.
40%+
of agentic AI projects are forecast to be scrapped by the end of 2027 — on escalating cost, unclear business value and inadequate risk controls.
Source: Gartner
Our own view, formed across thousands of enterprise learners, is simpler than any forecast: Technology is not the constraint. The certified, deployment-ready workforce is.
India’s AI Talent Equation: One Million Roles, One in Six Skilled
India has the demand and the ambition. The constraint is supply. Estimates put the national AI talent pool at 1.25 million by 2027 — real growth, but well short of a market compounding at 25–35% a year. On current trajectories the gap widens before it closes.
We see the consequence directly in client conversations. Skills mismatch, not headcount, is what delays deployment — and on most enterprise shortlists, demonstrable and certified capability now outranks the degree.
Figure: The agentic readiness gap — adoption is outpacing certified capability.
From Prompt Engineering to Agent Orchestration: Three Capability Shifts
From operator to orchestrator. Every prior automation wave asked people to use a tool. Agentic AI asks them to direct one. The working skill is decomposition — mapping a process into the steps an agent may own, the tool-calling boundaries it must respect and the human-in-the-loop checkpoints between them. That is delegation and process design before it is programming, which makes it teachable well beyond the engineering bench.
From reviewing output to governing outcomes. When AI drafts an email, a human reads it before it goes. When an agent provisions infrastructure or triggers a payment, reading it afterwards is too late. Enterprises need people fluent in least-privilege identity, data lineage and governance, evaluation harnesses, escalation thresholds, observability and cost control. In our experience, this is where most agentic programs are thinnest.
From individual courses to cross-functional readiness. One production agentic workflow touches data engineering, application development, identity and security, LLMOps and the business function it serves. Certifying one persona while the rest stand still guarantees the pilot dies at handover. The unit of skilling must become the team.
What we see
Agentic pilots rarely stall on model quality. They stall because too few people can scope what an agent may own, design its guardrails, and stay accountable when it acts alone.
Trainocate enterprise delivery experience
Why Vendor-Authorized Certification Is the New Deployment Prerequisite
Credentials are often said to date quickly in a field moving this fast. We find the opposite. Agentic concepts are universal; implementation is not. Identity and access design, data governance, retrieval and grounding, model selection, evaluation and cost management behave differently on AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and Databricks — and those differences decide whether an agent survives production.
Vendor-authorized certification remains the only independently verifiable proof that an engineer can build and operate on a given stack. Foundational credentials also give HR, finance, risk and procurement a shared vocabulary with engineering — and agentic decisions are risk decisions as much as technical ones.
2 in 5
Employers now prefer demonstrable AI skills and certifications over academic degrees. Skills-based hiring is no longer emerging — it is the default.
Source: NASSCOM–Indeed India AI Talent Report, 2026
Experiential Learning: Turning Training Investment into Production Capability
Nobody learns to supervise an autonomous system from a slide. Trainocate’s Experiential Learning Model was built on that premise — one continuous journey rather than a catalog of courses:
Learn from practitioners. Instructor-led and virtual instructor-led training delivered by vendor-authorized, actively certified instructors.Reinforce on demand. Self-paced digital learning and curated learning paths that keep pace with quarterly platform releases.Build in live environments. Hands-on labs in real cloud sandboxes — agents, tool-calling, guardrails and failure modes, not screenshots.Prove it on real work. Capstone projects mapped to the organization’s own agentic and cloud use cases.Certify the capability. Structured exam preparation and readiness checks that convert learning into a verifiable credential.Measure the outcome. Governance dashboards tracking completion, certification attainment and skill progression for L&D and business sponsors.
That model now runs through our AI Mastery Program, which spans foundational to advanced tracks for both business and technical roles across AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Databricks and vendor-neutral content — with agentic system design, multi-agent orchestration and AI governance sitting in the advanced tiers, and sandbox labs and industry capstones throughout.
The results hold up: Close to 80% certification attainment across enterprise programs and a 4.90/5.00 delivery CSAT. As an authorized training partner for AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Databricks and more, operating across 24 countries, we have run this model at scale — over one lakh professionals certified within a single global enterprise account, and agentic AI labs delivered across six Indian cities this year. Four consecutive AWS Global Training Partner of the Year awards and six appearances on the Training Industry Top 20 suggest the model travels.
30%
of enterprise application software revenue will be driven by agentic AI by 2035 — up from 2% in 2025.
Source: Gartner
A Twelve-Month Skilling Blueprint for CHROs and L&D Leaders
Assess against use cases, not catalogs. Benchmark capability against the specific agentic workflows the business intends to run.Build a spine, not a stack. Foundational AI and cloud fluency organization-wide; certified specialization for those who will design, secure and govern agents.Skill the workflow, not the individual. Move cross-functional cohorts together — data, application, security, business — so nothing stalls at handover.Instrument on outcomes. Track certification attainment, time-to-productivity and pilot-to-production conversion. Seat-hours measure activity, not readiness.
Two Budget Cycles: The Window for Workforce Readiness
15%
of day-to-day work decisions will be made autonomously by 2028 — up from effectively zero in 2024.
Source: Gartner
That is not a distant horizon. It is two budget cycles away.
Models are becoming a commodity; every enterprise buys them at roughly the same price. The durable differentiator is the depth of certified talent that can point those models at the right problems and stay accountable for what they do. Treat skilling as infrastructure — continuous, measured, certified — and your agents scale. Treat it as an event and the pilot stays a pilot.
Agentic AI has arrived. The question every board should be asking is whether its workforce is ready to leverage it.
Build a Certified, Agent-Ready Workforce
Trainocate partners with enterprises to build agentic AI and cloud capability at scale — from foundational fluency to certified specialization across AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Databricks and more, delivered through our Experiential Learning Model and AI Mastery Program. To design a skilling roadmap for your workforce, write to cloudacademy@trainocate.com or call +91 9223361686.
About Trainocate
Trainocate is a global IT training and workforce skilling organization and an authorized training partner for AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Databricks and more, operating across 24 countries. Trainocate delivers cloud, data and AI capability to enterprises through its Experiential Learning Model and AI Mastery Program, combining instructor-led training, self-paced digital learning, hands-on sandbox labs, industry capstones and vendor-authorized certification. The company is a four-time consecutive AWS Global Training Partner of the Year and has appeared six times on the Training Industry Top 20. Trainocate India operates as Networks India Pvt Ltd. For more information, visit www.trainocate.com/in.
About the Author
Vikas Mathur is Vice President at Trainocate India, where he leads the Cloud, Data & AI competency business. He works with enterprise L&D and technology leaders across India and Asia on cloud and AI workforce readiness, and can be reached at cloudacademy@trainocate.com or +91 9223361686.
Data sources referenced: Gartner (agentic AI adoption, project cancellation, governance maturity, autonomous-decision and market-share forecasts, 2025–26); McKinsey (State of AI, agent pilot-to-production); NASSCOM and MeitY (India AI job demand and AI-skilled share); NASSCOM–Deloitte (AI talent pool projection); NASSCOM–Indeed India AI Talent Report 2026 (skills-based hiring). Trainocate figures are from our own enterprise delivery data.
Contact: cloudacademy@trainocate.com | +91 9223361686
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