Last Updated -
July 10, 2026
Explore the business model, global strategy, and market performance including insights into its position in China.
Hesai Group is a lidar and 3D perception company founded in 2014 and headquartered in Shanghai, China. The listed parent is a Cayman Islands holding company, with the operating business primarily conducted through Hesai Technology Co., Ltd. in Shanghai. Its core products are lidar sensors and related perception solutions that help vehicles, robots and other machines measure distance and build a three-dimensional view of their surroundings. Hesai is listed on Nasdaq under HSAI and completed a dual primary listing in Hong Kong under stock code 2525 in September 2025.
The company serves advanced driver assistance systems, autonomous mobility, robotics, industrial automation, agricultural vehicles, service robots and other physical-AI applications. Its main product families include the AT Series, ET Series, FT Series and Pandar Series, which address different range, resolution and use-case needs. Hesai has developed from an automotive lidar supplier into a scaled sensor manufacturer with proprietary ASIC design, integrated research and testing, and in-house manufacturing in China and Thailand. It also has offices in Shanghai, Palo Alto and Stuttgart, with customers in more than 40 countries.
Hesai describes its strategic purpose as building global 3D perception solutions for intelligent vehicles, robotics and spatial intelligence. In Q1 2026, revenue rose 29.6% year over year to RMB680.6 million, almost entirely from product sales, while total lidar shipments increased 140.9% to 471,723 units. ADAS passenger vehicles accounted for 353,441 shipments, about three quarters of the total, and Robotics contributed 118,282 shipments. The quarter produced net income of RMB18.3 million and non-GAAP net income of RMB47.7 million, supported by a cash reserve of RMB7.23 billion at March 31, 2026.
Hesai Group makes money by designing, manufacturing and selling lidar hardware and related 3D perception solutions. Its products are used mainly in ADAS-equipped passenger vehicles and robotics applications, including robotaxis, delivery robots, automated guided vehicles, autonomous mobile robots, agricultural vehicles, industrial automation, service robots and other autonomous systems.
The business is overwhelmingly product-led. In Q1 2026, Hesai generated RMB680.6 million in net revenue, up 29.6% year over year. Product revenue was RMB679.7 million, while service revenue was only RMB0.9 million after a sharp decline in non-recurring engineering services. This revenue mix shows that Hesai is now primarily a scaled lidar unit supplier rather than a services-heavy engineering contractor.
The main product families include the AT Series, ET Series, FT Series and Pandar Series. These products address different range, resolution and deployment requirements across passenger vehicles, autonomous driving systems, robotics and industrial use cases. Hesai is also preparing the ETX series, powered by its in-house Picasso 6D full-color SPAD-SoC, with start of production targeted for the second half of 2026.
Hesai’s operating model combines proprietary chip design, integrated R&D, testing and in-house manufacturing. The company operates factories in China and Thailand and has offices in Shanghai, Palo Alto and Stuttgart. This structure supports volume production, quality control and unit-cost reduction, which are important competitive factors as automotive lidar pricing declines.
The company’s competitive advantages are mainly scale, product breadth, manufacturing control and global customer references. Q1 2026 shipments reached 471,723 lidar units, up 140.9% year over year. ADAS shipments were 353,441 units, about 75% of total shipments, while robotics shipments were 118,282 units. This gives Hesai a larger commercial base than many lidar peers that remain more dependent on limited automotive launches or lower-volume industrial demand.
Hesai’s market position has shifted from early-stage lidar supplier to scaled automotive and robotics supplier. Management highlighted four consecutive quarters of GAAP profitability, and Q1 2026 net income was RMB18.3 million compared with a net loss a year earlier. Gross margin was 39.1%, down from 41.7% in Q1 2025 because of a higher mix of lower-margin products, which reflects the trade-off between shipment scale and pricing pressure.
China is central to Hesai’s business model. The main operating company is based in Shanghai, China is a core sales and manufacturing market, and many customers are tied to the new energy vehicle market. The company also sells internationally, with customers in more than 40 countries and sales platforms in China and the United States. Its dual primary listing in Hong Kong in September 2025 added capital and market access alongside its Nasdaq listing.
Direct competitors include RoboSense, Seyond, Luminar, Ouster and Innoviz, along with in-house or large-technology-company sensing programs such as Huawei’s automotive lidar efforts. RoboSense is the closest listed China peer, especially in automotive lidar for Chinese EV and ADAS customers. Compared with U.S. lidar peers such as Luminar and Ouster, Hesai has shown stronger unit shipment scale and recent GAAP profitability, while still facing intense ASP pressure and China-linked regulatory and customer concentration risks.
A key market-position milestone is Hesai’s role as strategic lidar partner and confirmed supplier for Mercedes-Benz models enabling L3 autonomy. This strengthens its credibility with premium global OEMs and helps diversify its positioning beyond China-centered EV demand. At the same time, ADAS design wins involve long qualification cycles, model-launch dependence and annual price-down pressure, so maintaining margins while scaling shipments remains central to the investment case.
China is Hesai’s core market and operating base. The company is headquartered in Shanghai, conducts most operations in China, and uses Shanghai Hesai Trade as its primary China sales platform. Q1 2026 revenue rose 29.6% year over year to RMB680.6 million, driven by higher ADAS and Robotics lidar deliveries from demand in China and global markets. Total lidar shipments reached 471,723 units, including 353,441 ADAS units and 118,282 Robotics units. Hesai manufactures in-house in China and Thailand, with China central to R&D, production, and customer engagement. Its local strategy is to scale lower-cost automotive lidar for NEV and assisted-driving programs while expanding robotics and spatial-intelligence applications. A leading China-headquartered NEV maker remained a material customer, though its revenue share fell to 14.7% in 2025. Main China competitors include RoboSense, Seyond, and Huawei-linked automotive sensing programs.
Hesai’s growth profile has shifted from early commercialization toward scaled production in automotive and robotics lidar. In Q1 2026, revenue rose 29.6% year over year to RMB680.6 million, while total lidar shipments rose 140.9% to 471,723 units. ADAS remained the main engine with 353,441 shipments, equal to about three quarters of total volume, while Robotics shipments reached 118,282 units. The quarter also marked a profitability improvement, with net income of RMB18.3 million versus a net loss a year earlier and non-GAAP operating income of RMB20.9 million. Gross margin declined to 39.1% from 41.7%, showing that scale is arriving with mix and pricing pressure.
The near-term outlook is constructive but demanding. Management guided Q2 2026 revenue to RMB850 million to RMB900 million, or about 20% to 27% year-over-year growth. Sustained upside depends on converting shipment scale into durable profitability while expanding beyond China-centered EV demand and proving that newer spatial-intelligence products add revenue without weakening margins.
This Company Profile was written by Dominik Diemer
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