RoboSense (02498) released its first-half 2026 financial results on August 26, posting revenue of 1.02 billion yuan, a 30.2% year-on-year increase, with gross profit reaching 222 million yuan, up 9.4%, and a gross margin of 21.8%. The performance was driven by the dual-engine strategy of automotive and robotics businesses, with total lidar sales hitting 719,200 units in the period, a remarkable 170% surge, and product revenue climbing 32.9% to 958 million yuan.
Robotics lidar sales skyrocketed 5.1 times year-on-year, with this segment now contributing nearly half of the company's product revenue and serving as the primary source of product gross profit. This positions robotics as the key growth engine as RoboSense pivots toward the physical AI era. In 2024, the company deepened its commitment to physical AI by developing its proprietary SPAD-SoC lidar chips, empowering smart vehicles and various robotic platforms while exploring multiple growth avenues.
The automotive ADAS business remains the company's first growth curve. In the first half, ADAS lidar sales reached 436,600 units, up 98% year-on-year, with second-quarter growth accelerating to 135.7%. The core products, the EM4 main lidar and E1 blind-spot lidar, are designed for all-scenario complex road conditions and have earned the favor of over 90% of global industry leaders. As of June 2026, RoboSense had secured mass-production design wins for 186 vehicle models from 36 automotive OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, with ADAS order backlog exceeding 9 million units.
The robotics business represents the second growth curve, extending beyond automotive applications. First-half robotics lidar sales hit 282,600 units, a 510% year-on-year increase, accounting for 39.3% of total sales. In terms of revenue contribution, the ratio of ADAS to robotics product income shifted from approximately 9:1 in 2024 to nearly 50% each in the first half of this year, underscoring robotics' emergence as a core growth engine and revenue pillar. The flagship robotics offering is the E-platform all-solid-state digital lidar, with cumulative deliveries surpassing 300,000 units to date.
Key robotics clients span the lawn mowing sector, where RoboSense has established exclusive partnerships with Kumonga Technology, Wild Land, and Roborock, and the embodied intelligence field, collaborating with leading humanoid and quadruped robot companies such as Unitree and Galaxy General. To date, RoboSense has served over 3,400 robotics enterprises globally.
Notably, this earnings release marked the first disclosure of commercialization progress for three core incremental product categories for embodied robots: "eyes," "skin," and "muscles." Each category has entered different stages of commercial validation and delivery. Spatial cameras have secured volume orders with deliveries slated to begin by the end of the third quarter. Visuotactile and MEMS tactile products are set to launch their first enterprise-level mass production project in late September. The inaugural joint module has completed development, with volume deliveries planned for the fourth quarter.
CEO Qiu ChunChao indicated during the earnings call that the company preliminarily expects these three new product lines to collectively generate approximately 100 million yuan in revenue by 2027. Both growth curves, catering to smart vehicle and robotics demands, represent explorations within physical AI, and the business structure has notably diversified, reducing reliance on any single product category or market.
All scenarios are underpinned by a technology foundation: the company's fully self-developed digital chip system. In April 2026, RoboSense unveiled its proprietary SPAD-SoC digital architecture platform, "Genesis," along with two self-developed chips, "Phoenix" and "Peacock." Built on the Peacock chip, the world's smallest high-precision ultra-wide-angle all-solid-state digital lidar, the E2, has been officially launched and entered mass production. Deliveries of products incorporating the Peacock chip are expected to exceed 200,000 units in the second half of 2026, with the Phoenix chip also slated for its first automotive project SOP in the fourth quarter.
The proprietary SPAD-SoC chip system forms a core technology moat in two key respects: first, industry-leading technology and mass production capabilities support a leading position in the lidar sector for the next decade; second, cross-platform technology reuse not only serves the two core business segments but also opens possibilities for exploring diverse physical AI scenarios. Additionally, technology reuse effectively lowers R&D costs and enhances overall profitability.
In the second half, RoboSense's performance is expected to maintain a high growth trajectory. On one hand, automotive ADAS products are concentrated for delivery in the latter half; on the other, self-developed SPAD-SoC chips are entering a phase of scaled delivery, while the three incremental robotics categories—spatial cameras, tactile sensors, and joint motors—will progressively move into mass production. Over the long term, physical AI scenarios, including smart vehicles and robots, represent trillion-level market opportunities, from which the company stands to benefit substantially.
Buoyed by robust results, RoboSense has garnered bullish sentiment from multiple investment banks. Guosheng Securities, in a research note, believes RoboSense's robotics and automotive businesses are advancing in tandem, benefiting from concentrated new vehicle product deliveries in the second half, rising robotics market demand, self-developed chip cost optimization, and improved capacity utilization. The firm has set a target price of 47 Hong Kong dollars, implying a premium of 149.6% over the current price. As scale grows and profitability continues to improve, RoboSense may well be poised for a revaluation.
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