IRVINE, Calif., Nov. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lantronix Inc. (Nasdaq: LTRX), a global provider of Edge Intelligence and Industrial IoT solutions that power NDAA-compliant unmanned systems, critical infrastructure and resilient enterprise networks, today announced a strategic partnership with Latent AI to bring automatic target recognition (ATR) to Spotter, Lantronix’s compact robotics platform. Latent AI’s Captus Perception will add target detection and persistent tracking, and the companies are working toward a packaged solution for Group 1 UAS designed to deliver onboard perception within the size, weight, power and compute constraints of small aircraft. Captus Perception will be available as a Spotter package in the first quarter of 2027, following Spotter’s availability in the fourth quarter of 2026.
On the battlefield, detecting a target is only the first step. Small drones must hold a track as targets move or disappear behind obstacles, often with limited compute and unreliable links. Simple pixel-lock tracking on low-end boards can easily lose the target. More capable perception models exceed the compute, power and cost budgets of small, often attritable aircraft. Spotter was built to close that gap, enabling the combination of its compact, power-efficient compute with Latent AI’s hardware-optimized perception software to support persistent onboard tracking.
With Captus Perception on Spotter, an operator can designate a target and have the drone track it onboard. If the target moves out of view or is obscured, the drone can reacquire it. Tracking data will feed directly to the flight stack to support reconnaissance, surveillance and, where the platform supports it, terminal guidance. The track is designed to hold even when bandwidth is limited or the link is lost.
“Spotter gives drone makers the right amount of AI at the right size, power and cost. Latent AI shows what that unlocks on a Group 1 aircraft,” said Saleel Awsare, president and CEO of Lantronix. “Holding a target when it moves, hides or the video link drops is exactly what small drones have been missing. Together, we give customers a mission-ready path to that capability, and we show that Spotter is the platform mission software is built on.”
Why Spotter
Robust tracking on a small drone takes efficient AI software and compute sized for the aircraft. Powered by the Qualcomm® Dragonwing™ QCS6490, Spotter delivers up to 12.5 TOPS of AI performance at single-digit watts on a 42 x 120 mm board. It enables the combination of AI, vision, flight-grade sensing and vehicle control on one platform. It supports PX4, ArduPilot, Betaflight and MAVLink, so tracking data can flow straight to the flight stack. Spotter is NDAA and TAA compliant, is designed for a 10-plus-year lifecycle and builds on Lantronix compute already flying in Blue UAS-approved drones. Latent AI optimizes its AI pipeline for the target hardware, mapping each stage to the right compute engine on the chip. That lets more capable perception models run within Spotter’s power and processing budget.
“Drone makers shouldn’t need a perception team to put real target tracking on a small aircraft,” said Jags Kandasamy, CEO of Latent AI. “Together, Spotter and Captus Perception will give them compute and tracking in one package: detection and tracking that runs onboard a Group 1 aircraft and locks onto whatever target the operator picks.”
About Latent AI
Latent AI is the trusted edge AI company delivering mission-critical intelligence at the tactical edge. Its Captus Perception and Captus C-UAS solutions bring AI-powered target detection, persistent tracking and threat perception to edge platforms, including small uncrewed systems. Built on Latent AI’s expertise in hardware-optimized inference, its technology helps defense and industrial organizations deploy and sustain mission-critical AI across diverse compute architectures, including in disconnected and contested environments. Trusted by the U.S. Department of Defense. For more information, visit latentai.com.
About Lantronix
Lantronix Inc. (Nasdaq: LTRX) is a global leader in Edge Intelligence and Industrial IoT solutions that power NDAA-compliant unmanned systems, critical infrastructure and resilient enterprise networks. It delivers intelligent computing, secure connectivity and remote management for mission-critical applications, enabling customers to optimize operations, enhance security and accelerate digital transformation. Its comprehensive portfolio of hardware, software and services powers applications ranging from mission-critical autonomous platforms and edge analytics for critical infrastructure to intelligent surveillance and secure network management. By bringing intelligence to the network edge, Lantronix helps organizations achieve efficiency, security and a competitive edge in today’s AI-driven world. For more information, visit the Lantronix website.
“Safe Harbor” Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including, without limitation, statements concerning the collaboration between Lantronix and Latent AI, the expected availability, features and performance of Spotter and of Latent AI software on Spotter, including a packaged solution, and Lantronix’s positioning to capitalize on opportunities for long-term growth in the drone and defense technology markets. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results, future business, financial condition, or performance to differ materially from our historical results or those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement contained in this news release. The potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, such factors as the effects of negative or worsening regional and worldwide economic conditions or market instability on our business, including effects on purchasing decisions by our customers; our ability to mitigate any disruption in our and our suppliers’ and vendors’ supply chains due to changes in U.S. or foreign government trade policies, including recently increased or future tariffs, a pandemic or other outbreaks, wars and recent conflicts in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, or other factors; future responses to and effects of public health crises; changes in defense spending or procurement programs, including the Drone Dominance Program; cybersecurity risks; changes in applicable U.S. and foreign government laws and regulations; the risk that Spotter or the Latent AI software for Spotter is not completed on anticipated timelines or does not perform as expected; our ability to successfully implement our acquisitions strategy or integrate acquired companies; difficulties and costs of protecting patents and other proprietary rights; the level of our indebtedness, our ability to service our indebtedness and the restrictions in our debt agreements; and any additional factors included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on Aug. 27, 2026, including in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of that report, as well as in our other public filings with the SEC. Additional risk factors may be identified from time to time in our future filings. In addition, actual results may differ as a result of additional risks and uncertainties about which we are currently unaware or which we do not currently view as material to our business. For these reasons, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements we make speak only as of the date on which they are made. We expressly disclaim any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date hereof to conform such statements to actual results or to changes in our opinions or expectations, except as required by applicable law or the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC. If we do update or correct any forward-looking statements, investors should not conclude that we will make additional updates or corrections.
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Investor Contact (Lantronix):
Matt Glover and Greg Robles
Gateway Group, Inc.
LTRX@gateway-grp.com
Media Contact (Lantronix):
Diana Puckett
PRforLantronix@Bospar.com
Media Contact (Latent AI):
Latent AI Team
info@latentai.com
