Hesai Technology Reports Record Growth and Expands LiDAR Applications in Robotics and Autonomous Systems

On March 11, Hesai Technology officially disclosed its unaudited financial data for the fourth quarter and the full year of 2024. The figures show that Hesai Technology achieved impressive annual revenue of 2.08 billion RMB in 2024, marking a 10.7% growth compared to the previous year and setting a new historical record. The revenue for the fourth quarter also performed strongly, reaching 720 million RMB, a 28% year-on-year growth and a 33% quarter-on-quarter increase.

With these outstanding results, Hesai Technology became the first and only publicly listed LiDAR company to achieve profitability for the entire year, as well as the first to record positive operating cash flow and net cash flow for the full year.

Not only did Hesai Technology perform exceptionally well financially, but it also made significant strides in product deliveries. In 2024, the total delivery of LiDAR units surged to 502,000 units, a remarkable 126.0% year-on-year increase, with a four-year consecutive doubling of the delivery rate. In the fourth quarter alone, deliveries reached 222,000 units, marking an impressive 153.1% growth compared to the same period last year.

Of particular note is that Hesai Technology shipped 45,500 robotic LiDAR units in 2024, with 28,800 units shipped in the fourth quarter. While robotic LiDAR represents a relatively small share of total deliveries, its growth trend is exceptionally strong, and its future potential is boundless.

The robot industry is booming, with demand for LiDAR steadily increasing as it rides the wave of rapid development. As a global leader in LiDAR development and manufacturing, Hesai Technology is expanding the application of its LiDAR products across a broader range of robot industries. These applications span autonomous driving (mainly referring to autonomous fleets for passenger and cargo transport), robotic technology, and non-automotive sectors such as automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), delivery robots, agricultural vehicles, and port and yard automation, as well as many other industrial applications.

With products like the JT, QT, XT, and Pandar series, Hesai Technology is leading the charge in the lucrative robot market, promoting the development of consumer robots, robotic taxis, industrial automation, and many other robotics fields.

At the beginning of 2024, Hesai Technology launched its JT series mini 3D mechanical LiDAR and the second-generation solid-state LiDAR FTX products for robots.

The JT series is a true example of "small size, big power," with a minimum diameter of just 55mm, reducing the volume by 70% compared to similar products, and weighing only 200-250g. This series provides high-resolution 3D imaging, a 0-meter minimum detection range, and the widest super-hemispherical 360° horizontal field of view (FOV) in the world, offering significant advantages in the robotics sector.

The JT series is ideal for applications in humanoid robots, delivery robots, cleaning robots, AGVs, port logistics automation, and static perception. It officially entered mass production in December 2024, with a delivery volume of over 20,000 units in its first month.

On the other hand, the FTX product is equally impressive, with a more diverse range of applications. It not only performs well in smart driving but is also highly suitable for various intelligent robots. Due to its unique design, it can be flexibly integrated into different parts of a robot, providing ultra-wide-angle perception, which greatly expands the robot’s environmental awareness.

In market applications and customer expansion, Hesai Technology has achieved remarkable results. In September 2024, Hesai Technology partnered with MOVA, a leader in the smart home robot industry, to equip their new MOVA1000 lawn mower robot with the JT16 LiDAR.

Building on this successful collaboration, Hesai Technology expects to deliver six-digit orders of JT series LiDARs for MOVA’s smart lawnmower robots by 2025.Agtonomy, a global leader in light-duty construction equipment manufacturing and an autonomous agricultural vehicle solution partner, also recognized the potential of the JT series and initiated a partnership with Hesai Technology.

Additionally, Hesai Technology’s XT series is expanding its application footprint, providing industry-leading 3D perception technology to Unitree Robotics and achieving successful applications in diverse scenarios such as the BMW Automated Factory Driving System (AFW), further strengthening Hesai Technology's position in the LiDAR market and extending its product applications across more industries and use cases.

In 2025, Hesai Technology’s LiDAR deliveries are expected to increase by 2 to 3 times, reaching 1.2 million to 1.5 million units, with robotic LiDAR deliveries projected to approach 200,000 units.

As technological innovation progresses, the application boundaries of LiDAR in robots will continue to expand. In the future, agricultural robots are expected to leverage LiDAR for precise operations, and medical service robots will be able to navigate more accurately. These new scenarios will also further promote the LiDAR industry, pushing advancements in technology and cost reduction, strengthening industry chain collaboration, and injecting momentum into global industrial upgrading.