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"Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily" August 14th (Reporter Yu Jiaxin)On August 13, the British media Financial Times reported that Hesai Technology, a Chinese LiDAR manufacturer, would be removed from the US Department of Defense blacklist. Influenced by the news, Hesai Technology's US stock opened up 22% that day.

In response to the above news, Hesai Technology told the reporter of Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily: "We have not yet received any confirmation from the US Department of Defense. We have no comment on this matter. Hesai has repeatedly emphasized that the US Department of Defense's decision to include Hesai in the list of 'Chinese military-related companies' is wrong, unfair and unfounded. All of the company's lidar products are strictly limited to commercial and civilian use, and Hesai has no connection with the military of any country."

Previously, on January 31 this year, the U.S. Department of Defense updated the list of "Chinese military companies" operating directly or indirectly in the United States in accordance with the statutory requirements of Section 1260H of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, adding 11 Chinese companies. In the updated version, a total of 73 Chinese companies were included in the so-called "1260H list", including technology companies such as Hesai Technology.

On May 13, local time, Hesai Technology formally sued the U.S. Department of Defense, claiming that being included in the so-called "1260H list" by the U.S. Department of Defense caused the company's "reputation damage, a sharp drop in stock prices, and loss of business opportunities" and caused its plans to build a factory in the United States to be shelved. Hesai urged the court to rule that the U.S. Department of Defense remove it from the relevant list or declare the list unconstitutional.

In response to the removal, the Chinese Embassy in Washington said it was “pleased to see the United States correct its discriminatory practices and provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.”

Founded in 2014, Hesai Technology is a global LiDAR R&D and manufacturing company that initially focused on the development of laser gas sensors and began exploring driverless LiDAR products in 2016. Currently, its products are widely used in passenger and commercial vehicles supporting advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), self-driving cars, and various intelligent robot applications such as unmanned delivery vehicles and AGVs.

The financial report shows that in 2023, Hesai Technology achieved revenue of 1.877 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 56.1%; the comprehensive gross profit margin reached 35.2%, and the annual operating cash flow turned positive for the first time.

In the first quarter of 2024, its revenue was 360 million yuan, a year-on-year decline of 16.51%. The total delivery volume of LiDAR reached 59,101 units, a year-on-year increase of 69.7%. Among them, the delivery volume of ADAS products was 52,462 units, a year-on-year increase of 86.1%. The combined gross profit margin of Robotaxi business and ADAS business was 38.8%.

As of the end of the first quarter of 2024, Hesai Technology has obtained mass production orders for nearly 70 models of lidar from 18 OEMs and Tier-1 customers.

Recently, Hesai Technology announced that it has reached a designated cooperation on laser radar mass production with the Chinese joint venture brands of three international OEMs, namely Audi, GM and Ford. The new cooperative models will start large-scale mass production in succession from 2025.

According to data from market research firm Yole Group, Hesai Technology will continue to rank first in the automotive LiDAR market with a market share of 37% in 2023. Although it has dropped by 9 percentage points compared to 2022, Hesai Technology's market share in the self-driving taxi LiDAR market is as high as 73%.

In July this year, Hesai Technology said that the sixth generation of Baidu Apollo driverless cars will be launched on the market this year. The main laser radar on the sixth generation Baidu Apollo driverless car Yichi 06 is exclusively supplied by Hesai. Each car is equipped with 4 ultra-high-definition long-range laser radars AT128, with a detection distance of more than 200 meters. It is worth mentioning that this is the first time in China that the ADAS semi-solid laser radar solution has been deployed on Robotaxi on a large scale.