From Hesai (02525, HSAI.US) Q2 report, we see the evolution of scarce physical AI assets: strategic growth business accelerates realization of potential.

Hesai Technology (02525, HSAI.US) recently disclosed its financial performance for the second quarter of 2026, revealing a more versatile hard-tech company with higher growth visibility to the capital market. During the reporting period, Hesai's strong and robust LiDAR business continued to realize its growth potential. Additionally, thanks to early commercial breakthroughs in its power module business, Hesai's strategic growth initiatives (hereinafter referred to as "SGI business") contributed revenue for the first time in history. Driven by multiple growth engines, Hesai's revenue for the second quarter reached 860 million yuan, with GAAP net profit surging by 60% to 70.55 million yuan. It is worth mentioning that the value of Hesai's latest financial report extends beyond just financial data. According to the company, the Kosmo space intelligence platform has completed its first batch of prototype deliveries and received orders from several leading humanoid robot and automation companies, including Galaxy Universal, expected to officially contribute revenue in the third quarter. Various signs indicate that Hesai is accelerating its evolution into a full-stack infrastructure platform for Siasun Robot & Automation and physical AI, encompassing perception, understanding, and execution layers. Based on the SGI business's better-than-expected commercial progress and market demand, Hesai has significantly raised its full-year revenue guidance for this business to between 200 million and 300 million yuan; it is expected that revenues from the SGI business will rise to 700 million yuan next year, achieving a breakeven point at that time. The "cash cow" business steadily delivers, with SGI business exceeding expectations. Hesai's Q2 report sends a strong value signal - the company has evolved from a LiDAR manufacturer to a comprehensive Siasun Robot & Automation and physical AI infrastructure platform that covers the full chain of "perception, understanding, execution." GMTEight believes this Q2 financial report is the first systematic verification of this structural transition. Perception is the foundation of Hesai's business and provides the confidence for extending into understanding and execution layers. This quarter, Hesai's total LiDAR shipments reached 628,300 units, a year-on-year increase of 78.4%. Among them, ADAS LiDAR deliveries reached 485,900 units, a year-on-year increase of 60.1%. In terms of market influence, according to data from Gaishi Automotive Research Institute, Hesai's main LiDAR market share has ranked first in the industry for 17 consecutive months, maintaining a clear leading advantage in the automotive main LiDAR market. With the robust performance of the automotive perception business, Hesai's Siasun Robot & Automation perception business has also entered a new phase of accelerated volume growth, with 142,400 Siasun Robot & Automation LiDAR units delivered in Q2, representing a staggering year-on-year increase of 193.4%. Reports indicate that over 50 embodied intelligence companies, including Yushu Technology, Ant Lingbo, Honor Siasun Robot & Automation, Galaxy Universal, Xinghai Tu, and Yuanli Lingji, are rapidly adopting the JT128 LiDAR, driving continuous growth in the company's LiDAR shipments. The sustained increase in the perception layer has not only contributed steady revenue and profit Hesai has achieved GAAP profit for five consecutive quarters by Q2 but has also provided ample cash flow support for the expansion into understanding and execution layers. If LiDAR is the "eyes," then the Kosmo space intelligent platform is the "brain." Kosmo deeply integrates Hesai's customized LiDAR, multi-sensor inputs, self-developed 3DGS, and AIGC algorithms, enabling seamless capture and high-fidelity reconstruction of three-dimensional environments, transforming the collection of spatial data from a complex and high-cost task into a standardized, scalable infrastructure. Kosmo completed its first batch of prototype deliveries in July and received orders from numerous leading humanoid robot and automation companies including Galaxy Universal, expected to contribute revenue beginning in Q3, and is currently in discussions with over 200 potential cross-industry partners. The launch of Kosmo marks Hesai's transition from "spatial perception" to a new stage of "spatial intelligence." Hesai's self-developed Siasun Robot & Automation power modules can be seen as the "joints and muscles" of Siasun Robot & Automation. Based on underlying technologies such as chips, materials, and precision manufacturing, Hesai has created a product matrix of actuators that cover all joints of embodied intelligence. Compared to market-leading products, its power modules have reduced size by approximately 37%, while torque and power density have tripled, with transmission efficiency exceeding 95%. In terms of commercialization, Hesai has chosen to first tackle the most technically challenging component within the actuator category, the "dexterous hand," using stringent hand scenarios to validate the reliability and precision of its modular architecture, before replicating this thoroughly validated solution across the shoulder, wrist, elbow, and other body joints. This quarter, the power module business has begun contributing revenue, with cumulative deliveries exceeding 10,000 units by the end of Q2, and shipments expected to grow to six-figure levels by 2027. With multiple businesses progressing simultaneously, growth visibility has significantly increased. In today's market environment, where the investment interest in tech stocks remains high, global capital is eagerly seeking assets with high certainty and strong growth potential. Hesai's latest Q2 report just happens to showcase such a picture to the marketa hard-tech company with a solid foundation and rapid growth is accelerating its advances from the LiDAR realm into the broader Siasun Robot & Automation and physical AI landscape. Certainty primarily comes from the visibility of orders. This quarter, Hesai secured a global point from the Volkswagen Group, covering multiple models of its Chinese joint-venture brands; the ultra-long-range, ultra-thin LiDAR ETX received a new point from Great Wall Motor, expected to go into mass production by the end of 2026; following the acquisition of the Botzhi 3X, Hesai also secured the Botzhi 7 model point from GAC Toyota, continuing to expand its collaboration with Japanese automotive brands. Various LiDAR solutions have expanded from the ideal L9 and L8 to the 250,000 yuan L6, with a maximum of four units installed per vehicle. So far, Hesai's products have covered all the top ten car brands in China by sales. Meanwhile, the JT128 LiDAR is accelerating its entry into more embodied intelligence customers procurement lists. The multidimensional expansion of the customer matrix continues to enhance the certainty of orders and growth visibility. The commercialization of new businesses opens up new growth channels for Hesai. The SGI business historically contributed revenue for the first time this quarter, prompting Hesai to significantly raise its full-year revenue guidance to between 200 million and 300 million yuan, with expectations to reach approximately 700 million yuan by 2027 and achieve breakeven. Behind this series of better-than-expected numbers are the power modules expanding from dexterous hands to full-body joints, and the Kosmo space intelligence platform successfully winning orders from leading humanoid robot and automation companies, set to contribute revenue in Q3. The technological reserve lays the groundwork for long-term growth. Hesai's 6D full-color ultra-sensitive SPAD-SoC chip "Picasso" has progressed from technical development to the product integration stage, completing preparation for mass production. This is the world's first SPAD-SoC that achieves a native integration of color and depth information at the chip level, with the new generation ETX LiDAR equipped with this chip expected to be mass-produced and delivered in the second half of 2026. The 6D full-color LiDAR is expected to become the next generation perception standard in the industry and provides a key hardware foundation for volume production of L3/L4 advanced autonomous driving. Thus, a clear business structure has emerged: LiDAR serves as a robust "cash cow" business, continuously contributing steady revenue, profits, and positive cash flow; the SGI business undertakes the mission of the second growth curve and is accelerating towards large-scale commercialization. The two business lines advancing side by side have made Hesai the only company in the industry that covers the entire chain of "perception, understanding, execution," while also achieving commercial success. This unique full-stack capability is the core of Hesai's rarity. For capital pursuing certainty and growth, a company like Hesai with increasingly high growth visibility is undoubtedly a key target worth long-term tracking in the stock pool.