Chinese Lidar firm hesai sets terms for $171 million IPO

Hesai, a Chinese developer of sensor technologies used in self-driving cars, is planning to raise as much as $171 million in a US initial public offering.

The Shanghai-based startup is offering 9 million American depositary shares at $17 to $19 apiece, according to an exchange filing on Thursday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report.

Hesai could sell as many as 10.35 million ADS if an over-allotment option is fully exercised, taking the potential proceeds as high as $197 million.

The offering makes Hesai among the first Chinese companies to launch US IPOs this year, heralding a wave of listings riding on the recent market boom. Such listings slowed to a trickle amid an auditing dispute between the two countries’ regulators and pessimism over China’s economy due to its restrictive Covid policies.

Chinese stocks listed in the US got off to a flying start in 2023, with the Golden Dragon China Index gaining 22% since the start of the year.

Founded in 2014, Hesai develops and produces lidar sensors for autonomous driving cars and robotics applications. The company’s investors include Chinese search engine Baidu , smartphone maker Xiaomi and German engineering conglomerate Robert Bosch GmbH.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse AG and Huatai Securities are arranging the Hesai offering.