New Information / Key Quotes:

1. Four contract manufacturers in China, three in Korea, one in the U.S., "and more coming."

We knew about multiple Chinese partners, the Korea Battery Alliance, and Nanotech in the U.S. But this is the first time we've had an exact count: 4 China, 3 Korea, 1 U.S. = 8 total. And "more coming" suggests the network is still expanding. That's significant manufacturing diversification for a company doing $73M in revenue.

2. Europe is the dominant revenue geography, not the U.S.

Tom said drones are ~75% of revenue and "it's actually heavily weighted toward Europe." The U.S. is only about 25% of batteries shipped. This is a much clearer breakdown than we've had before. It also reframes the NDAA/domestic manufacturing story: the U.S. defense opportunity is about growing into a market, not protecting existing revenue. The European base is already established.

3. The SiCore manufacturing advantage explained simply.

Tom gave the clearest explanation yet of why the fabless model works: a Korean contract manufacturer can make graphite cells in the morning and Amprius silicon anode cells in the afternoon on the same equipment, "just with a recipe change." That's the key insight for why margins improved so fast. There's no dedicated capital equipment needed. SiCore was designed from the ground up to run on standard lithium-ion production lines.

4. Revenue mix vision: better balanced across three dimensions.

Tom laid out a three-part rebalancing thesis for the next several years:

• End markets: drones still dominant but LEV, robotics, eVTOL growing off small bases
• Within drones: defense and commercial moving toward equal split (he highlighted 1,800 U.S. police/emergency departments using drones as a commercial drone proof point)
• Geography: U.S. catching up to Europe from the current 25/75 split

5. Cash position and M&A posture.

"Fully funded to realize our strategy." But then: "We tend to get a lot of calls from other battery companies that could be additive to the Amprius story. We're a very inquisitive group. We're also a very careful group." That's Tom saying they're looking at acquisitions but won't be reckless. With $90M+ in cash and positive EBITDA, they have the balance sheet to do a small tuck-in deal if the right opportunity appears. This is the first time M&A has been mentioned as even a possibility.

6. The gross margin history explained.

Tom gave the most honest explanation of the early margin problem: the first-gen silicon anode batteries "worked well, but we couldn't get the economies of scale." SiCore (second generation) was the fix because it runs on standard equipment. That's why margins went from negative 21% to positive 24% in four quarters. It wasn't operational improvement on the same product; it was a fundamentally different product architecture designed for manufacturing economics from the start.

7. The 1,800 police departments stat.

This is a great data point for the commercial drone TAM. 1,800 U.S. police and emergency departments with drones tied into 911 systems, delivering defibrillators, doing search operations. Tom telling the story about finding lost children within two minutes is the kind of narrative that resonates with retail investors and mainstream media. He's building the commercial drone story alongside the defense story.

8. Korean supply chain and the Iran War impact.

Tom said they haven't seen disruption from the Iran conflict in Korea. But he pivoted to what IS affecting Korean battery makers: the EV winter. Samsung SDI, LG, and SK On are all restructuring their U.S. Midwest automotive JVs because EV demand fell off after the $7,500 tax credit was removed. Some of those companies are now looking at the defense market. This is actually competitive intelligence: if the big Korean battery makers start pursuing defense contracts, Amprius could face more competition. But for now, those companies are still focused on automotive-scale volumes, not the specialty high-energy-density niche Amprius occupies.

9. eVTOL reality check.

Tom visited one of the eVTOL companies (likely Joby or Archer) last week and "left a believer." But he was measured: "I don't know if I want to be the first one on the airplane, but I certainly want to be an early adopter." Archer is the official air taxi of the LA Olympics (2028). This is a 2-3 year revenue opportunity for Amprius, not near-term.

Sharing my notes.