Category: Hesai Technology

LiDAR maker Hesai posts record Q1 revenue

Hesai began trading on the Nasdaq on February 9 and has suffered a prolonged sell-off since then, with a cumulative decline of more than 60 percent to date.

LiDAR maker Hesai posts record Q1 revenue-CnEVPost

Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai Group (NASDAQ: HSAI) posted record revenue in the first quarter and improved gross margins compared to the fourth quarter of last year.

Hesai reported a net income of RMB 429.9 million ($62.6 million) in the first quarter, up 73.0 percent year-on-year, according to the company's earnings report, which was released after the US stock market closed on May 23.

The company reported product revenue of RMB 424.1 million in the first quarter, up 77.7 percent from RMB238.7 million in the first quarter of 2022.

This was due to increased demand for autonomous mobility and ADAS LiDAR products as volume production of the AT128 began in the third quarter of 2022, Hesai said.

Hesai shipped 28,195 ADAS LiDAR units in the first quarter, compared to 222 units in the same period in 2022.

It shipped a total of 34,834 LiDAR units in the first quarter, up 402.9 percent year-on-year.

Hesai's gross margin for the first quarter was 37.8 percent, up from 30.0 percent in the fourth quarter, but down from 50.9 percent in the first quarter of last year.

LiDAR maker Hesai posts record Q1 revenue-CnEVPost

The decline was due to increased shipments of lower-priced ADAS LiDAR products during the ramp-up stage with a lower in-house plant capacity utilization rate.

It reported a cost of revenue of RMB 267.3 million in the first quarter, up 119.2 percent year-on-year, caused by higher shipments of LiDAR products, partially offset by a decrease in unit costs.

Hesai's sales and marketing expenses for the first quarter were RMB 35.4 million, an 83.1 percent increase from RMB 9.3 million in the first quarter of last year.

The company's general and administrative expenses for the first quarter were RMB49.5 million, an increase of 10.8 percent from RMB 44.7 million for the same period in 2022.

Hesai's research and development expenses for the first quarter were RMB 208.5 million, an increase of 99.2 percent from RMB 104.7 million for the same period in 2022.

This year-on-year increase was primarily due to the recognition of one-time stock compensation expense of RMB 66.7 million related to stock options granted under the performance conditions of the IPO and increased payroll expenses of RMB 28.3 million due to an increase in R&D staff, Hesai said.

Hesai reported a net loss of RMB 118.9 million for the first quarter, compared with RMB 25.1 million for the same period in 2022.

Excluding stock-based compensation expense, it reported non-GAAP net income of RMB 1.6 million in the first quarter, compared with RMB 2.1 million in the same period in 2022.

It reported basic and diluted net loss per common share of RMB 0.98 for the first quarter, and non-GAAP basic net income per share and non-GAAP diluted net income per share of RMB 0.01.

Cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were RMB 3,141.4 million as of March 31, 2023, compared to RMB 1,859.1 million as of December 31, 2022.

Hesai expects second-quarter net income to be in the range of RMB 410 million to RMB 430 million, an increase of about 94.3 percent to 103.8 percent year-on-year.

Hesai began trading on the Nasdaq on February 9 under the ticker HSAI and has suffered a prolonged sell-off since then, with a cumulative decline of more than 60 percent to date.

The company closed down 2.8 percent to $9.37 on Tuesday, with a total market capitalization of about $1.18 billion. It was down 1.28 percent in Tuesday's after-hours trading.

LiDAR maker Hesai posts record Q1 revenue-CnEVPost

Hesai unveils ultra-thin LiDAR ET25 that can be placed behind windshield

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Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai opens its 1st European office in Germany

This will help it further expand into the European market and accelerate its globalization, Hesai said.

Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai opens its 1st European office in Germany-CnEVPost

(Image credit: Hesai)

Hesai Group has opened its first European office in Stuttgart, Germany, which will help it expand further into the European market and accelerate its globalization, the Chinese LiDAR manufacturer announced today.

Stuttgart is the automotive capital of Europe, with more than 2,000 companies in the automotive chain and many top OEMs and large Tier 1 suppliers headquartered here, Hesai said.

More than 20 automotive industry-related universities and R&D institutions provide a large talent base for the automotive industry in the region, it said.

Hesai's European office will leverage local resources in automotive and component manufacturing to enhance the company's presence and overall competitiveness in the European market, Hesai said.

Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai opens its 1st European office in Germany-CnEVPost

(The building where Hesai's European office is located. Image credit: Hesai)

The company received the TISAX AL3 assessment label, the highest level of information security, this year, passing the European automotive supply chain access requirements and being able to serve European car OEM customers, it said.

Founded in Shanghai in late 2014, Hesai initially focused on developing high-performance laser sensors and has been exploring LiDAR products since 2016.

Hesai opened an office in Palo Alto, Silicon Valley, at its inception and now operates in more than 40 countries and 90 cities worldwide.

The company went public on NASDAQ on February 9, becoming the first Chinese LiDAR manufacturer to go public in the US.

Hesai shipped 47,515 LiDAR units in the fourth quarter, up 739.2 percent from 5,662 units in the same period in 2021, it said in its earnings report on March 16.

The company shipped 80,462 LiDARs for the full year 2022, up 467.5 percent year-on-year.

Hesai's revenue in overseas markets over the past three years reached nearly RMB 1.19 billion ($170 million), accounting for more than half of the company's total revenue.

($1 = RMB 6.9520)

Hesai unveils ultra-thin LiDAR ET25 that can be placed behind windshield

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Hesai unveils ultra-thin LiDAR ET25 that can be placed behind windshield

The Hesai ET25 is an in-cockpit LiDAR designed to be placed behind the front windshield, with the help of Fuyao's special windshield to solve the signal attenuation problem.  |  Hesai US

(Image credit: Hesai)

Some have complained that roof-mounted LiDARs have ruined the design aesthetic of (NYSE: ) and (NASDAQ: LI) vehicles.

Now, a new product from a local LiDAR maker promises to make future vehicles with LiDAR on the roof without design compromises.

Hesai (NASDAQ: HSAI) today officially unveiled its new LiDAR, called ET25, which it says is an in-cockpit LiDAR designed to be placed behind the front windshield.

The ET25 is an ultra-thin, long-range LiDAR, with "ET" standing for Extremely Thin and "25" referring to its height of only 25 mm.

The LiDAR will be mounted behind the windshield, which allows for a smoother body design without compromising wind resistance, according to Hesai.

At the same time, the design allows the device to clear the view when it is covered with dust, rain or fog with the help of the vehicle's wipers alone, the company said.

Unlike (NASDAQ: TSLA), which relies on pure vision solutions for its autonomous driving technology, local Chinese car companies prefer to get better environmental awareness by equipping their vehicles with LiDARs.

Among the common solutions available today, NIO and Li Auto both put LiDARs on the roof of the vehicle, but at the expense of aesthetics to some extent. NIO's LiDAR supplier is Innovusion backed by NIO Capital, and Li Auto's supplier is Hesai.

, on the other hand, mounts LiDARs near the headlights, such as the G9 and P7i, and the P5, but some are concerned that this location is vulnerable to damage. The LiDAR supplier for the G9 and P7i is RoboSense.

It is worth noting that Hesai's latest solution may raise concerns about the attenuation of LiDAR-emitted signals when they are blocked by glass.

Conventional automotive glass causes severe signal attenuation of the near-infrared laser emitted by LiDAR when it encounters glass, which does not meet the need for range and resolution, said Hesai.

In addition, how to effectively integrate LiDAR with other devices mounted behind the windshield, such as cameras and rain sensors, is also a great challenge when installing the device into the cockpit, it said.

To address these challenges, Hesai announced a strategic partnership with automotive glass giant Fuyao to advance the adoption of this new LiDAR while unveiling the ET25.

Fuyao's specially made front windshield solves the challenge of signal attenuation in the cockpit caused by ordinary glass when LiDAR is running, Hesai said.

The use of this specially treated glass in the KOZ (Keep Out Zone) area of the LiDAR allows the ET25 to perform without compromise, according to Hesai.

At just 25 mm thick, the ET25 is nearly half as thin as the Hesai AT128, but instead of sacrificing performance, it is more powerful, the company said.

It has a FOV of 120° (H) x 25° (V) and can detect up to 250 meters without a windshield and up to 225 meters behind a windshield, according to Hesai.

With a point frequency of more than 3 million per second and a minimum resolution of just 0.05° x 0.05°, the ET25 brings ultra-high-definition, long-range 3D perception to smart cars, it said.

The ET25 uses Hesai's in-house developed laser transceiver chip to make the receiver chip several times more sensitive, it said, adding that the product can increase the ranging capability of a 905 nm LiDAR to more than 250 m for objects with 10 percent reflectivity.

With only 12 W of power, the LiDAR has excellent thermal performance and can operate continuously in the cockpit for long periods of time, maintaining high performance even on hot summer days, it said.

The ET25 operates at less than 25 decibels in the cockpit, which is lower than the noise level in a quiet library, meeting the NVH requirements in the cockpit of a luxury electric vehicle brand, Hesai said.

Founded in Shanghai in late 2014, Hesai initially focused on developing high-performance laser sensors and has been exploring driverless LiDAR products since 2016.

On February 9, the company completed its NASDAQ debut, becoming the first Chinese LiDAR manufacturing company to list in the US.

LiDAR-maker Hesai posts Q4 revenue growth of 56.6% YoY in 1st earnings report since US IPO

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LiDAR-maker Hesai to set up software R&D headquarters in Chongqing

Hesai shipped 80,462 LiDAR units for the full year 2022, up 467.5 percent year-on-year.  |  Hesai.US

LiDAR-maker Hesai to set up software R&D headquarters in Chongqing-CnEVPost

(Hesai FT120 automotive short-range LiDAR. Image from Hesai prospectus.)

Shanghai-based LiDAR maker Hesai Group (NASDAQ: HSAI) signed an investment agreement with Chongqing Economic Development Zone on March 26 to build a software global R&D headquarters in the southwestern Chinese city, according to a report in Chongqing Daily today.

Hesai is a global leader in LiDARs for autonomous driving and advanced assisted driving, and Chongqing wants it to strengthen its cooperation with local car companies, the report said, citing the city's mayor, Hu Henghua.

Under the agreement, Hesai will build a software global R&D headquarters, set up an innovation incubation center and create a LiDAR industrial park in Chongqing's Economic Development Zone, the report said, without providing further details.

Founded in Shanghai in late 2014, Hesai initially focused on developing high-performance laser sensors and has been exploring driverless LiDAR products since 2016.

On February 9, the company made its NASDAQ debut, becoming the first Chinese LiDAR manufacturing company to list in the US.

Hesai shipped 47,515 LiDAR units in the fourth quarter, up 739.2 percent from 5,662 units in the same period in 2021, it said in its earnings report on March 16.

It shipped 43,351 ADAS LiDAR units in the fourth quarter, compared to 87 units in the same period in 2021.

The company shipped 80,462 LiDAR units in the full year 2022, up 467.5 percent year-on-year.

LiDAR-maker Hesai posts Q4 revenue growth of 56.6% YoY in 1st earnings report since US IPO

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LiDAR-maker Hesai posts Q4 revenue growth of 56.6% YoY in 1st earnings report since US IPO

Hesai began trading on the Nasdaq on February 9 and has accumulated a decline of about 36 percent since then.

Hesai

LiDAR-maker Hesai posts Q4 revenue growth of 56.6% YoY in 1st earnings report since US IPO-CnEVPost

Chinese LiDAR maker Hesai Group (NASDAQ: HSAI) saw record revenue in the fourth quarter, though gross margin fell further.

Hesai reported revenue of RMB 409.2 million ($59.3 million) in the fourth quarter, up 56.6 percent year-on-year, according to its unaudited earnings report released after the US stock market closed on March 15, the company's first since listing on the Nasdaq.

The company shipped 47,515 total LiDAR units in the fourth quarter, up 739.2 percent from 5,662 units in the same period in 2021.

It shipped 43,351 ADAS LiDAR units in the fourth quarter, compared to 87 units in the same period in 2021.

Hesai's gross margin was 30 percent in the fourth quarter, down from 52.4 percent in the same period in 2021 and down from 37 percent in the third quarter.

LiDAR-maker Hesai posts Q4 revenue growth of 56.6% YoY in 1st earnings report since US IPO-CnEVPost

The decline in gross margin was primarily due to increased shipments of low-margin ADAS LiDAR products in the early ramp-up phase and lower capacity utilization at the in-house plant, the company said.

Hesai reported a net loss of RMB 135.3 million for the fourth quarter, compared with RMB 70 million for the same period in 2021.

Excluding stock-based compensation expense, it reported an adjusted non-GAAP net loss of RMB 110.2 million in the fourth quarter, compared with RMB 39.3 million in the same period in 2021.

The company reported both basic and diluted net loss per common share of RMB 1.18 for the fourth quarter. Excluding stock-based compensation expense and deemed dividends, adjusted non-GAAP basic and diluted net loss per common share for the fourth quarter were both RMB 0.96.

It reported R&D expenses of RMB 178.8 million in the fourth quarter, an increase of 13.3 percent from RMB 157.8 million in the same period of 2021, primarily due to higher payroll expenses resulting from an increase in R&D staff.

Hesai's sales and marketing expenses for the fourth quarter were RMB 41.4 million, an increase of 95.2 percent year-on-year.

It had general and administrative expenses of RMB 47.6 million in the fourth quarter, a decrease of 7.6 percent year-on-year, primarily due to a decrease in stock-based compensation expenses.

Hesai's cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments were RMB 1.86 billion as of December 31, 2022, compared to RMB 2.79 billion as of December 31, 2021 and RMB 2.07 billion as of September 30, 2022.

For the full year 2022, Hesai's revenue was RMB1,202.7 million, an increase of 66.9 percent year-on-year.

The company shipped 80,462 LiDAR units in full-year 2022, an increase of 467.5 percent year-on-year.

The company's gross margin for the full year 2022 was 39.2 percent, down from 53 percent in the prior year.

For the first quarter of 2023, Hesai expects net revenues to be in the range of RMB 390 million to RMB 410 million, or about 57.0 percent to 65.0 percent year-on-year growth.

Hesai began trading on the Nasdaq on February 9 under the ticker HSAI and has continued to fall since then.

The company closed down 12.36 percent yesterday, bringing its cumulative decline since the IPO to about 36 percent.

Hesai was up 3.02 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday following the earnings report.

LiDAR-maker Hesai posts Q4 revenue growth of 56.6% YoY in 1st earnings report since US IPO-CnEVPost

Hesai debuts on Nasdaq, becoming 1st Chinese LiDAR maker to go public in US

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