In MicroVision vs Ouster, Ouster Runs the Larger Lidar Business

MicroVision vs Ouster on Scale, Cash and Defense Focus

Ouster is the larger and more established lidar business on reported results, while MicroVision is a much smaller company with a heavier defense pitch. Ouster reported second-quarter 2026 (Q2 2026) revenue of $55 million, up 56% year over year, and held $263 million in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments. MicroVision reported third-quarter 2026 (Q3 2026) revenue of $2.4 million, a net loss of $12.2 million and $28.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.

A researcher who wants a lidar supplier with a growing revenue base and a large cash cushion would start with Ouster. A researcher who wants the clearest drone and defense product exposure, and who accepts financing risk, would start with MicroVision. MicroVision launched MOVIA Air for unmanned aircraft and defense applications and names Overland AI as a defense customer.

Both are component suppliers. Neither MicroVision nor Ouster builds drones or aircraft, and each sells lidar sensors that other manufacturers put into their own systems. The two latest quarters also cover different periods: Ouster's latest reported results end June 30, 2026, and MicroVision's end September 30, 2026.

Company Snapshot

The table sets each company's latest reported figures side by side. MicroVision's numbers come from its Q3 2026 results release, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a Form 8-K exhibit. Ouster's numbers come from its Q2 2026 results release (republished by 01net).

Products and Business Models

MicroVision sells long-range lidar built partly on technology it bought from another supplier. Its IRIS and HALO sensors came from Luminar Technologies in a January 2026 asset sale, reported at $33 million in cash. MicroVision names HALO as the next-generation technology that IRIS customers can transition to.

The MOVIA family is MicroVision's second product line. MOVIA Pro entered production launch in October 2026, and MOVIA Air and MOVIA Air Plus launched for autonomous aerial logistics, unmanned aircraft and defense applications. MicroVision's Q3 release says IRIS customer demand grew in the second half of 2026, and an August 2026 announcement described multiple IRIS orders across North America and Europe in units rather than dollars.

Ouster sells digital lidar and, after an acquisition, cameras as well. Its Rev8 lidar line adds native color, and the ZED X Nano camera launched in April 2026 from the Stereolabs acquisition. Ouster's Q2 2026 release reports more than 17,000 lidar and camera sensors shipped, with lidar about 53% of that total.

Ouster's product revenue was $53 million in Q2 2026, up 51% year over year.

Revenue Scale and Growth in MicroVision vs Ouster

Ouster's quarterly revenue is roughly 23 times MicroVision's, computed by dividing $55 million by $2.4 million. The two quarters end three months apart. That makes the ratio a scale indicator rather than a same-period performance measure.

MicroVision's revenue rose from $0.2 million in Q3 2025 to $2.4 million in Q3 2026. Year-to-date revenue through September 30, 2026 reached $4.8 million. MicroVision says its full-year 2026 revenue outlook "remains in the range of $10 million to $15 million."

That outlook sets a clear test for the fourth quarter. Hitting the $10 million low end requires about $5.2 million in fourth-quarter revenue ($10 million minus $4.8 million), which is more than double the $2.4 million Q3 figure. Hitting the $15 million high end requires about $10.2 million in the fourth quarter alone.

Ouster's Q2 2026 revenue was up 56% year over year and 12% from the prior quarter, its 14th straight quarter of growth. Ouster guided Q3 2026 revenue to $54.5 million to $57.5 million. The $56 million midpoint of that range (computed) sits just above the $55 million Q2 figure.

This site's Ouster profile cites trade coverage reporting that Ouster's Q2 2026 lidar shipments rose 70% year over year. That is a unit count, not revenue. This page does not include Ouster's Q3 2026 results, so the guidance range is the most recent forward figure here.

Net Losses, Cash and Funding Risk

MicroVision carries the greater funding risk because its cash balance is small relative to its spending. MicroVision ended September 30, 2026 with $28.9 million in cash and cash equivalents after using $13.6 million in operations during the quarter. It expects 2027 operating cash burn of about $40 million, which exceeds the cash it held at the end of Q3 2026.

At the Q3 rate, $28.9 million covers a little over two quarters of operating cash use (computed: $28.9 million divided by $13.6 million is about 2.1). MicroVision ran a public stock offering in August 2026, and earlier guidance put its 2026 cash burn near $60 million. Any new MicroVision financing would appear in its SEC filing index.

Ouster reported a GAAP gross margin of 49%, or 53% on a non-GAAP basis, and a GAAP net loss of $18 million. That loss is larger in dollars than MicroVision's $12.2 million. Ouster's loss sits against $55 million of quarterly revenue and $263 million in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments.

Ouster's cash figure is roughly nine times MicroVision's (computed: $263 million divided by $28.9 million). The two cash figures use different definitions, because Ouster's includes restricted cash and short-term investments. This page's sources do not include an Ouster operating cash-use figure, so a runway calculation like MicroVision's is not possible here.

Defense, Drone and Industrial Exposure

MicroVision names more defense and drone-related customers than Ouster does in its latest results. Overland AI, a defense customer building unmanned ground vehicles, uses IRIS. Robinson Unmanned and Avular ran real-time mapping demonstrations with MicroVision sensors.

MicroVision's release also names and describes other customers. Blue-Band has a strategic alliance with MicroVision for intelligent transportation systems contracts. The release also describes an unnamed construction and mining original equipment manufacturer (OEM) development agreement, an Asia-Pacific automotive autonomous mobility pilot, a speed enforcement program customer and an unnamed prime government contractor that selected MicroVision's custom semiconductor design.

Ouster's release does not break out defense revenue. Ouster's Q2 2026 product revenue came mainly from industrial and smart infrastructure customers in warehouse automation, yard logistics and intelligent transportation. The release describes Ouster's markets as industrial, robotics, automotive and smart infrastructure, and it does not mention defense or drones.

This site's Ouster profile tracks its defense and drone-adjacent business, including counter-drone and perimeter security uses and drone mapping integrations such as GeoCue's TrueView line built around Rev8. On August 26, 2026, GUSS Automation said it plans to integrate Rev8 OS0 lidar into autonomous orchard sprayers, with no contract value disclosed. Neither MicroVision's nor Ouster's release cited here breaks out defense revenue as a separate figure.

Who This Comparison Is Not For

Readers comparing drone makers or airframes will not find that comparison here, because MicroVision and Ouster both sell sensors into other companies' systems. The drones and unmanned systems hub covers the companies that build aircraft.

Readers looking for a price target or a buy or sell call will not find one on this page. It sets out company-reported results and site-computed ratios only, with no valuation and no share-price data, so the filings linked below are the starting point for any valuation work.

Readers who need a lidar spec shootout will not find range or point-density figures here. Ouster's product lines are listed on the Ouster company site, and MicroVision's Q3 release names its IRIS, HALO and MOVIA product lines.

What Would Change This Comparison

MicroVision delivering fourth-quarter revenue near the $5.2 million needed to reach the low end of its $10 million to $15 million 2026 outlook would strengthen its revenue case. A new MicroVision financing would change the funding-risk picture, since guided 2027 burn of about $40 million exceeds its $28.9 million cash balance at September 30, 2026.

Ouster's Q3 2026 results, once published, would replace the guidance range of $54.5 million to $57.5 million with an actual figure. A result outside that range in either direction would change how far ahead of MicroVision Ouster's growth record sits.

A disclosed defense revenue split at either company would change the defense comparison. Today that comparison rests on product launches and named customers, because neither release cited here reports defense revenue as its own line.

How to Use This Comparison

Ouster fits a research thesis built on an established, growing lidar revenue base and a large cash position. MicroVision fits a thesis built on defense and unmanned-aircraft product exposure, where the fourth-quarter revenue result and future financing decide the case. Readers comparing Ouster with other lidar suppliers can also see Ouster vs Aeva, Ouster vs Innoviz and AEye vs Ouster.

Every figure on this page comes from the companies' releases and this site's company profiles, plus this site's arithmetic on those figures, and nothing here is investment advice. Read MicroVision's October 28, 2026 results release, pull Ouster's latest quarterly results from Ouster's SEC filings, and compare MicroVision vs Ouster on matching quarters.