RoboSense

In the first quarter of 2026, RoboSense (2498.HK) reached a structural inflection point in the company's history: robotics shipments outnumbered automotive ones in a single quarter for the first time. This shift reframes the company from a traditional vehicle sensor supplier into the perception infrastructure backbone of the global robotics industry.

Financials Highlight Explosive Robotics Growth

RoboSense reported total revenue of RMB 458.8 million in the first quarter, representing a 39.9% year-over-year increase. This robust top-line performance is directly attributable to the rapid expansion of its robotics segment. During the quarter, shipments of LiDAR for robotics and other non-automotive applications reached approximately 185,500 units, recording a massive 1,458.8% year-over-year jump.

This single-line growth now underpins the majority of the company's volume. Total LiDAR shipments for the quarter stood at approximately 330,300 units (up 204.1% year over year), with robotic LiDAR now accounting for 56% of the mix. As the robotics business scales, profitability metrics are markedly improving. The first-quarter net loss narrowed by 35.9% to RMB 63.3 million. Adjusted net loss (excluding share-based compensation) came in at RMB 43.9 million, roughly half the prior-year figure, sustaining the financial recovery trajectory established during the company's first-ever profitable quarter in Q4 2025.

Broad Penetration and In-House Silicon Build Profit Moat

RoboSense's financial performance in robotics does not rely on a single category; rather, it stems from comprehensive monetization across high-market-share segments. The company currently commands a 71% share in commercial cleaning robots and has been adopted by over 90% of leading unmanned delivery enterprises, including JD.com and Meituan. Furthermore, the company recently secured a large-scale order for its new vision products from a leading European humanoid robotics manufacturer, with mass production slated for 2026, marking the critical transition from market validation to commercial-scale revenue.

The core logic sustaining the narrowing losses and improving gross margins lies in the transition to in-house silicon. RoboSense's launch of Eocene, its self-developed SPAD-SoC digital architecture, alongside two proprietary chips (Phoenix and Peacock), is steadily migrating the company's product lines onto fully owned silicon. As these new chips enter mass production in the second half of 2026, management expects manufacturing costs to decrease further, thereby repairing and elevating overall gross margins.

A Stable Ballast Under the "Dual-Engine" Strategy

Although robotics has emerged as the absolute primary driver of revenue, the ADAS business remains the stable ballast under the company's "dual-engine" strategy. RoboSense currently sits on an intelligent driving order backlog exceeding 9 million units, locking in its position as a global strategic supplier to Geely Auto Group, alongside the Chinese joint ventures of Toyota, Nissan, Volkswagen, and General Motors.

The first-quarter performance proves to the capital markets that RoboSense's "second engine" can not only share the growth burden but is already dictating the overall revenue structure. With a greater than 14-fold increase in robotics shipments, a backlog of millions of automotive orders, and a clear roadmap for chip cost reduction, RoboSense is establishing long-term financial and market dominance at the perception layer of the Physical AI era.