We are a global leader in the LiDAR and perception solutions market. By integrating hardware and software, we have differentiated ourselves from most LiDAR companies in the market who only focus on hardware. Combined with visual or other sensors, LiDAR forms perception solutions that endow automobiles and robots with perception capabilities. We develop our solutions based on chip- driven LiDAR hardware and AI perception software, expanding application scenarios and realizing large-scale commercialization in the industry. Our business primarily comprises (i) sales of LiDAR hardware products for application in the ADAS, robotics and other non-automotive industries such as cleaning, logistics, industrial, public services and inspection, among others, (ii) sales of LiDAR perception solutions integrating our LiDAR hardware and AI perception software, and (iii) the provision of technology development and other services.
We achieved sustained business growth but were loss-making during the Track Record Period. This was primarily because we were still at a ramp-up stage and we aim at long-term business success and financial return in the fast-growing LiDAR solutions market, rather than seeking near- term profitability at the expense of long-term market potential. Accordingly, we may continue to incur net losses and net operating cash outflow in the foreseeable future, including for the year ending December 31, 2023. We expect to remain loss-making at net loss level and generate net operating cash outflow for the years ending December 31, 2023 and 2024, and we are not able to predict when we will be able to start generating net profits and net operating cash inflow due to the fast-evolving business environment and competitive landscape. For more details, see “Business — Business Sustainability.”
We believe that our market leadership, customer-centric technology and products, and mass production capabilities position us as a global leader of LiDAR and perception solutions.
Market Leadership
We are one of the LiDAR companies in the industry offering LiDAR products and solutions. According to the CIC Report, as measured by sales revenue in 2022, we ranked No.2 in the LiDAR solutions markets globally and in China (excluding low-end LiDARs with less than 16 channels), with market shares of approximately 7% and 20%, respectively. According to the same source, in terms of sales volume in 2022, we ranked No. 3 in the LiDAR solutions markets globally and in China (excluding low-end LiDARs with less than 16 channels), with market shares of approximately 12% and 21%, respectively. We are the world’s first LiDAR company to achieve mass production of automotive-grade solid-state LiDAR, according to CIC. Mass production is a large-scale production phase that adopts automated intelligent manufacturing and engineering facilities to ensure product consistency, reduce labor costs, enhance utilization, and achieve cost-efficiency.
The major sensors for autonomous driving perception include LiDARs, cameras, ultrasonic radars and millimeter-wave radars, among which LiDAR, as an emerging sensing technology, accounted for approximately 2% of the market share in 2022. According to CIC, we were the first among all LiDAR companies in the world to commence the delivery of mass-produced automotive- grade LiDAR. Our products have earned industry-wide recognition. As of March 31, 2023, we had earned design wins(1) for mass production of LiDAR products for 52 vehicle models with 21 automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, ranking No. 1 globally, according to CIC.
As of June 30, 2023, our design wins for mass production of LiDAR products increased to 58 vehicle models with 21 automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and had achieved SOP(1) for 13 vehicle models for nine of the 21 aforementioned automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers. As of the same date, our LiDAR products had been selected by the world’s best selling automotive OEM from 2020 to 2022 in terms of sales volume and nine of China’s top ten largest automotive OEMs, which include China’s largest automotive OEM and world’s largest NEV OEM, both in terms of sales volume in 2022, according to CIC. As of June 30, 2023, we had served approximately 2,200 customers in the robotics and other non-automotive industries. According to CIC, we ranked No. 1 globally in terms of sales volume for customers in the robotics industries (excluding low-end LiDARs with less than 16 channels) in 2022.
Customer-centric Technology and Product Approach
We have adopted a customer-centric approach when developing our technology and products. The development of the LiDAR industry has progressed through two distinct stages, namely the application exploration stage and the large-scale mass production stage. The first stage focuses on product performance. As the industry moves towards large-scale production, customers, particularly those in the automotive industry, are demanding products with superior performance, higher reliability and lower costs. Furthermore, LiDAR’s AI perception software and fusion technology with other sensors also play an increasingly critical role in bringing out its best performance. In order to meet the evolving needs of our customers, we integrate hardware and software in our LiDAR solution offerings.
Our customer-centric approach is built on our chip-driven LiDAR platform as well as advanced perception software capabilities. By integrating software and hardware, we are able to achieve mutual success for ourselves and our customers and set us apart from our competitors.
Chip-driven LiDAR Platform
For our hardware, we focus on developing chip-driven LiDAR platforms based on our proprietary LiDAR-on-chip technology that enables fast and efficient product iterations. At the application exploration stage, we launched our R Platform products using discrete components to meet market requirements for superior performance. To further reduce cost and enhance quality, we subsequently increased our focus on research and development of proprietary chips, leading to the successful development of our M and E Platforms, which became key milestones in our journey towards global recognition.
According to CIC, we were one of the earliest LiDAR companies to develop proprietary chip technology in the world. Since 2017, we have been developing our chip-driven scanning, transmission, receiving and processing systems. The mass production and delivery of our M platform products in June 2021 made us the first LiDAR company in the world to achieve mass production of automotive-grade LiDAR products equipped with in-house developed chips, according to CIC.
Subsequently in November 2022, we launched our E platform products equipped with in-house chips integrating transmission, receiving and processing systems. Other than ADAS applications, we also expect the E platform products to be extensively applied in robotics application scenarios due to its wider field of view and cost-effectiveness.
We started to develop our LiDAR-on-chip technology for our R platform, and subsequently for our M and E platforms. Since then, we not only iterated to improve the performance of the chips, but also developed more proprietary chips to replace the standard chips, which optimized our LiDAR-on- chip technology.
Advanced AI Perception Software
Our advanced AI perception software, HyperVision, converts raw sensor data collected through LiDAR and cameras into high-quality perception information that can be directly used by autonomous vehicles and robots. We use advanced AI technology to combine multiple types of sensor data through neural networks to provide a complete set of environment perception information. Different sensors supplement each other and form a “Super Sensor.” For robotics applications, HyperVision combines with our LiDAR hardware products to form solutions that empower the robotics industry through converting raw sensory data to high-value information that can be used by robots to accurately perceive their environment and make decisions.
Leveraging our perception software capabilities, we are able to offer customized LiDAR perception solutions to meet diverse customer demands. According to CIC, we are the first LiDAR company in the industry globally to offer high performance perception solutions. Our revenue from sales of LiDAR perception solutions accounted for 23.1% of our total revenue in 2022.
Highly Iterative Product Development
Approach We have adopted a highly iterative and customer-centric product development approach, especially for ADAS customers who are highly sensitive to project development risks, product quality and cost-efficiency. Through our approach, we are able to (i) reduce R&D risks for new product development, (ii) proven components, equipment and production processes to ensure reliability and maximize economies of scale, and (iii) optimize project development timeframe.
The highly iterative nature of our products is demonstrated by the mass production of M1 in 2021, followed by M1 Plus in 2022; and we plan to begin mass production of M2 in 2023. All of these products are able to achieve performance improvements without significant changes to their physical dimensions or connectors, allowing our customers to easily implement upgrades with minimal additional efforts. Our M and E platform products will continue to be upgraded in the future, fueling our continued growth and success in the market.
Source: RoboSense Tech (02498) Prospectus (IPO Date : 2023/12/27) |