As a leading player in the domestic LiDAR industry, RoboSense carries the expectations of numerous capital investors. However, the company's poor performance in the secondary market has disappointed many of its investors. With the entry of cornerstone investors into the lock-up period, RoboSense's stock price has unfortunately "collapsed," potentially leading to significant losses for venture capitalists who entered later.

In less than a month, RoboSense's market value has shrunk by over 80%.

On July 5th, RoboSense's stock price plummeted by 68.55%. In fact, since June 11th when RoboSense's stock price reached a historical high of 137.5 Hong Kong dollars per share, the company's stock price has been on a downward trend. At that time, the company's market value had reached a peak of 62 billion Hong Kong dollars. In less than a month, RoboSense's market value has evaporated by nearly 55 billion Hong Kong dollars.

The sharp drop in the company's stock price on July 5th may be related to the entry of cornerstone investors into the lock-up period.

The prospectus shows that RoboSense is highly favored by capital. Since its establishment, the company has obtained more than ten rounds of financing, with investors including independent brand automotive groups, new forces in car manufacturing, supply chain leaders, and investment institutions. The significant drop in the company's stock price may result in substantial losses for these investors.

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The lifting of the lock-up period seems to have triggered a "dive" in RoboSense's stock price.

On July 5th, RoboSense's stock price plummeted, closing down 68.55% at 16.02 Hong Kong dollars per share, with a market value of 7.224 billion Hong Kong dollars, setting a new low since its listing.

On June 11th of this year, the company's stock price had once reached as high as 137.5 Hong Kong dollars per share. At that time, RoboSense's stock price had surged by more than 60% due to its inclusion in the Hong Kong Stock Connect, with a market value reaching a peak of 62 billion Hong Kong dollars. If calculated based on this, the company's market value has evaporated by nearly 55 billion Hong Kong dollars in less than a month.

It is reported that the sharp drop in RoboSense's stock price this time may be related to the entry of cornerstone investors into the lock-up period. On January 5th of this year, Nanshan Strategic Investment, as a cornerstone investor of the company, participated in the issuance and subscribed to 100 million US dollars, with a lock-up period of six months.On July 5th, the lock-up period for Nanshan War Investment expired, and its 18.16 million shares were unlocked, which directly impacted the stock price of SuTeng JuChuang. If calculated based on the subscription price of Nanshan War Investment, the paper loss of Nanshan War Investment in SuTeng JuChuang exceeded 60%.

The sharp decline in SuTeng JuChuang's stock price not only resulted in a large paper loss for Nanshan War Investment, but it was also bad news for venture capitalists who entered the company after the E-round financing. The prospectus shows that SuTeng JuChuang completed a 200 million yuan E-series preferred stock financing in October 2021 and a 340 million yuan E-series preferred stock financing in February 2022, with a cost per share of 20 yuan.

In November 2021, SuTeng JuChuang completed a 964 million yuan F-series preferred stock financing, and in October 2022, it completed a 460 million yuan F-series preferred stock financing, with a cost per share of 26.44 yuan.

In April 2023, SuTeng JuChuang completed a 400 million yuan G-1 series financing, with a cost per share of 35.17 yuan; at the same time, the company completed a 790 million yuan G-2 series financing, with a cost per share of 36.42 yuan. This means that compared to today's closing price, these venture capitalists are all in a state of paper loss.

It is worth noting that SuTeng JuChuang's development speed is not slow. According to the "2024 Automotive LiDAR Market Report" recently released by Yole Group, in 2023, five Chinese manufacturers, including Hesai Technology, SuTeng JuChuang, TuDaTong, Huawei, and LanWo, jointly captured 84% of the global automotive LiDAR market share, an increase of 11 percentage points from the previous year.

Among them, SuTeng JuChuang accounted for 21% of the market share last year, a significant increase of 12 percentage points from 2022, making it the fastest-growing LiDAR company in the market in 2023.

Capital "wrapped" in listing

Before the IPO, SuTeng JuChuang can be called the "darling of capital."

Public information shows that SuTeng JuChuang, established in 2014, is a global leader in the market of LiDAR and perception solutions. By integrating hardware and software, the company is different from most LiDAR pure hardware manufacturers on the market. While focusing on chip-driven LiDAR hardware, it also lays out artificial intelligence perception software technology to form solutions. Major customers include BYD, Geely Automobile, Xiaopeng Automobile, Zero Run Automobile, and other new and old car manufacturers.

Since its establishment, SuTeng JuChuang has obtained up to 14 rounds of financing, with a total amount of corporate investment funds of about 3.628 billion yuan.Thirty-three investors joined this capital feast, including Yutong Group, Hubei Xiaomi Changjiang Industrial Fund, Hong Kong Luxshare Limited, Geely Holding Group, BAIC Group, GAC Group, BYD Group, Desay SV, as well as Hua Xin Capital, Yunfeng Fund, Kunlun Capital, Jinglin Investment, and others.

Among them, Oriental Fortune was the earliest angel investor of RoboSense. Recalling the initial contact with RoboSense, Zhou Shaojun, a partner at Oriental Fortune, once stated that many investors at the time expressed that they "did not understand the project and were unwilling to invest." As a result, the team conducted a more detailed study. Although they could not imagine specific application scenarios at the time, they still relied on their intuition to invest in RoboSense decisively.

In this way, Oriental Fortune made three investments in RoboSense in December 2014, October 2015, and November 2020, becoming one of the main institutional investors of RoboSense within five years.

Among the many investors, Cainiao held the highest share. The prospectus shows that before the IPO, Cainiao held 11.03% of RoboSense's equity, second only to the 11.58% equity held by Qiu Chunxin, one of the CEOs and founders of RoboSense.

As the second-largest shareholder, Cainiao and the Alibaba group behind it have very close related transactions with RoboSense. The prospectus shows that from 2020 to 2022, RoboSense's transactions with the Alibaba group for the sale of goods and services were 2.958 million yuan, 5.062 million yuan, and 5.061 million yuan, respectively; the cost of purchasing Alibaba Cloud services was 15,000 yuan, 6,000 yuan, and 5,000 yuan.

However, just before sharing the fruits of RoboSense's listing, Cainiao was quietly transferring its shares in RoboSense.

On October 27, 2022, the 1,399,200 Series C preferred shares held by Cainiao were redesignated as Series G-2 preferred shares and transferred to four capital entities.

On April 14, 2023, the 3,483,400 Series C preferred shares held by Cainiao were redesignated as Series G-2 preferred shares and transferred to three capital entities.

The prospectus of RoboSense mentioned that if the company fails to complete the listing on or before December 31, 2024, or the later date approved by the shareholders, the preferred shareholders have the right to redeem all or part of their shares.

That is to say, if RoboSense cannot complete the listing before the end of 2024, then its investors can redeem shares worth up to 6.2 billion yuan. This may indicate that RoboSense is under pressure from capital before officially listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.Making Noise Without Making Money

Multiple rounds of financing before the IPO also indirectly indicate that Suteng JuChuang has always been extremely dependent on financing for "blood transfusions."

From 2020 to 2022, Suteng JuChuang's debt-to-asset ratios were 365.68%, 251.30%, and 246.97%, respectively. This series of high numbers reveals the financial pressure the company is facing. Despite this, the company's losses continue to expand, making its path to profitability particularly long and difficult.

Since its establishment in 2014, Suteng JuChuang has been focusing on the research and development and innovation of lidar and perception solutions. The company has formed a complete solution with chip-driven lidar hardware as the core, combined with artificial intelligence perception software technology, widely applied in markets such as advanced driver-assistance systems and robotics.

Under current technological conditions, automotive lidar has gradually become an indispensable sensor for L3-level and above autonomous driving due to its advantages in accurate distance measurement, high-speed resolution, and the ability to generate clear 3D images. However, despite the theoretical potential of lidar technology, it still faces many challenges in large-scale commercial applications, including cost issues, technological maturity, and regulatory restrictions. The market's expectations for lidar technology may be overly optimistic, and the slow progress in practical applications may lead to market overhype.

From 2020 to 2022, Suteng JuChuang's operating income was 171 million yuan, 331 million yuan, and 530 million yuan, respectively, with a high revenue growth rate. However, compared with the growth in revenue, the increase in the scale of losses was even more rapid. From 2020 to 2022, Suteng JuChuang's net profit attributable to the parent company was a loss of 221 million yuan, 1.655 billion yuan, and 2.089 billion yuan, respectively.

Entering 2023, Suteng JuChuang's profitability problem remains unresolved. Although the operating income reached 1.12 billion yuan, the loss further expanded to 4.337 billion yuan. In the first quarter of 2024, the company recorded a total income of 360 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 149.1%, with a net loss of 131 million yuan, and the loss margin narrowed.

The phenomenon of Suteng JuChuang increasing revenue without increasing profits may be related to price competition within the industry. The prospectus data shows that from 2020 to the first half of 2023, the average selling price of Suteng JuChuang's ADAS lidar dropped from 22,500 yuan per unit to 3,700 yuan per unit, with a significant price drop over three years, almost only a fraction of the initial price.

At the same time, with the increase in sales volume, the company's period expenses have also increased significantly. At the end of 2020, the company's management expenses and sales expenses were 119 million yuan and 24 million yuan, respectively, and by 2023, these two expenses had surged to 981 million yuan and 86 million yuan, respectively.

In addition, the company's large-scale investment in research and development is also an undeniable factor. Suteng JuChuang plans to use nearly half of the raised funds for research and development, and the R&D expenses at the end of 2023 increased from 306 million yuan in 2022 to 635 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 107.6%, accounting for 56.67% of the total operating income.In the future, as autonomous vehicles continue to gain popularity, can RoboSense, with its first-mover advantage, turn the tide in its favor?