Ouster, Inc. (NYSE: OUST), a leading provider of high-resolution digital lidar sensors for the industrial automation, smart infrastructure, robotics, and automotive industries, today announced that it has achieved Buy America and Buy American certifications for sensors manufactured in its San Francisco facility.

The Buy American Act and Buy America Act require the U.S. government to prefer U.S.- made products in its purchases. These requirements also apply to purchasers other than the federal government if a project utilizes federal funds. By achieving these certifications, federal, state and municipal agencies, as well as private parties with government customers, will be able to use Ouster’s digital lidar technology in federally funded projects. Other customers also stand to benefit as they look to certify their own products that incorporate Ouster’s digital lidar technology.

“With the next wave of investments in U.S. infrastructure projects driven in part by recent legislation, Ouster is well-positioned to capture the increased demand for lidar technology,” said Nate Dickerman, Ouster’s President of Field Operations. “These certifications further differentiate Ouster's products from our peers and demonstrate our ability to scale with our federally-funded customers over time as they move from pilot projects today to larger scale deployments in the future.”

These certifications will be particularly meaningful for potential customers in the smart infrastructure and mobility end markets, or anyone whose end customer is the U.S. government. Currently, over 80% of state and local transportation projects depend on federal funding which require Buy America(n) certified products when available.

"Buy America certification is an important strategic advantage for companies like Ouster that are committed to U.S. manufacturing and supporting American jobs,” said Andy Berke, former Mayor of Chattanooga and CityFi Partner. “Buy America is a critical procurement criteria for any recipient of federal grants for infrastructure projects, which help improve our cities' highways, public transit, and local streets for the better.”

“Ouster’s digital lidar is an integral part of our Pegasus line of hybrid UAV/UGV drones and their certification will be an important factor as we launch new programs,” said Alberto Lacaze, president at Robotic Research. “Sourcing Buy American certified components enables Robotic Research to deploy our solutions to key government customers like the U.S. Department of Defense, as well as qualify for grant funding to further innovate.”

About Ouster

Ouster (NYSE: OUST) invented its digital lidar in 2015 and is a leading manufacturer of high-resolution digital lidar sensors used throughout the industrial automation, smart infrastructure, robotics, and automotive industries. Ouster’s sensors are reliable, compact, affordable and highly customizable, laying the foundation for digital lidar ubiquity across endless applications and industries. Already hundreds of customers have incorporated Ouster lidar sensors in current products or those in development for imminent commercial release. For more information, visit www.ouster.com, or connect with us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding Ouster’s ability to supply federally funded entities, its ability to maintain Buy American and Buy America certifications, potential supply demand for Ouster’s sensors, financial outlook and market positioning. Forward-looking statements give Ouster’s current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that we expected, including: Ouster’s limited operating history and history of losses; the adoption of its products and the growth of the lidar market generally; the competitive environment in which it operates; its future capital needs; its ability to adequately protect and enforce its intellectual property rights; its ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to applications in which its products are frequently used; its reliance on a third-party manufacturer; the timing of revenue from existing customers; uncertainties related to Ouster’s estimates of the size of the markets for its products and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the Company’s final prospectus and definitive proxy statement, dated February 12, 2021, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), as updated by the factors disclosed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in its Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on March 15, 2021, and in other reports the Company files with or furnishes to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this press release. While Ouster may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it disclaims any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause its views to change.