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A self-driving robotaxi and self-driving bus on display at the China International New Energy and Intelligent Connected Vehicles Exhibition in Beijing in September 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE
TechTech Trends

Chinese lidar maker RoboSense sees wider annual loss, 111 per cent revenue growth amid higher adoption by carmakers

  • The company said its full-year revenue grew 111 per cent year on year to US$154.9 million on the back of robust demand from the auto and robot sectors
  • Founded in 2014, RoboSense competes with Huawei Technologies, Seyond and Hesai in China’s fast-growing lidar sensor market
Self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles
Che Pan
Kelly Le
Che Panin BeijingandKelly Le
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RoboSense Technology, China’s leading maker of lidar systems for autonomous cars, saw its losses widen last year despite posting 111 per cent revenue growth driven by higher adoption of its products by carmakers and suppliers, according to a company filing on Wednesday.

The Shenzhen-based company’s 2023 revenue grew 111 per cent year on year to 1.12 billion yuan (US$154.9 million) on the back of robust demand from the auto and robot sectors, the company said in an earnings call with analysts on Wednesday.

However, losses attributed to shareholders doubled to 4.3 billion yuan in the 12 months ended December 31, 2023.

The numbers are the first full-year results since RoboSense raised HK$985.12 million (US$126.14 million) in January last year, becoming Hong Kong’s first initial public offering (IPO) of that year. However, its shares fell on their debut.

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“We expect strong growth momentum for 2024, as sectors such as robots and cars are accelerating their adoption of lidars,” Mark Qiu, Robosense’s newly-appointed CEO, said on the call.

The company, which counts China’s largest carmakers including SAIC Motor Corp, Geely Automobile and BYD as customers, offers lidar sensor hardware as well as artificial intelligence perception software for autonomous driving and robotics applications.

Last year, RoboSense sold 777 million yuan worth of lidar products. Photo: Handout

Founded in 2014, RoboSense competes with Huawei Technologies, Seyond and Hesai in China’s fast-growing lidar sensor market. In the first two months of the year, it controlled more than half the Chinese lidar market, with more than 73,000 units equipped on cars.

Huawei had a 17 per cent market share, followed by Seyond and Hesai with 14 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, according to auto market research firm Gasgoo.

Last year, RoboSense sold 777 million yuan worth of lidar products, accounting for over 68 per cent of its total revenue, while revenue generated from robotics and other industries dropped 22 per cent year on year to 186.5 million yuan.

In 2023, the company sold 243,000 lidar sensors for assist-driving systems, up from 36,900 in 2022, demonstrating rapid adoption by carmakers wanting to enhance autonomous driving functions.

RoboSense shares closed up 4 per cent to HK$40 before the conference call.

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