Hesai Technology Raised USD 190 Mn in Biggest Chinese U.S. IPO Since 2021

Automotive Author: Ziying Wu, Mu Li Feb 10, 2023 03:29 PM (GMT+8)

As a Chinese company, global LiDAR technology leader Hesai Technology raised USD 190 million in its IPO on NASDAQ, ultimately becoming the LiDAR company with the largest market value worldwide. Hesai Technology has thus become the largest U.S. listing by a Chinese company since 2021, with a devotion to empowering robotic development through LiDAR solutions and creating better lives.

Hesai IPO

On February 9, Hesai Technology (NASDAQ: HSAI, Chinese: 禾赛科技), a global leader in LiDAR solutions, raised USD 190 million in a U.S. initial public offering (IPO), the largest by a Chinese company since 2021. With a valuation of USD 2.62 billion, the company's opening price rose to USD 23.75 per share, marking a 25 per cent increase on its offering price of USD 19 per share. Hesai Technology has thus become the largest Chinese group to go public in the US, ever since Didi raised over $4 billion before a data security scandal tanked its stock days later in 2021.

According to its prospectus, Hesai Technology in 2022 has shipped more than 80,400 LiDAR products cumulatively, ranking No.1 in the world. It is also the first company capable of maintaining monthly deliveries of over 10,000 LiDARs.  From Frost & Sullivan's research, in the first three quarters of 2022, Hesai Technology was the world's top LiDAR company in terms of revenue, 3.6 times higher than that of the second place player.

Strong capabilities in R&D of specialized LiDAR chips and manufacturing stands as one of the key competitive advantages Hesai Technology possesses, as the co-founder and CEO of the company, Yifan Li mentioned in the listing speech. Back in November's new product launch event in 2022, he already claimed that "manufacturing was a key component that can hardly be stripped from R&D".

Moreover, Yifan Li expressed his willingness and devotion to fulfilling the company's long-term vision, that is, empowering the development of robotic technology through high-quality and cost effective LiDAR solutions, ultimately improving the quality of lives and making the world a better place.

Hesai Technology's strategic investors include Baidu Inc. (Chinese: 百度), Xiaomi Corp. (Chinese: 小米) and Meituan (Chinese: 美团), as well as German engineering conglomerate Robert Bosch GmbH. The offering was led by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse Group AG and Huatai Securities (Chinese: 华泰证券).