Shares of Chinese laser sensor startup Hesai jumped as much as 28.6% after its US market debut on Thursday, finishing up 10.8% to $21.05 and valuing the company at about $2.6 billion at close of trading. The firm’s initial public offering is the biggest listing by a Chinese company in the US since Didi’s IPO saga in June 2021, allowing the 10-year-old startup to raise $190 million for global expansion, according to chief executive Li Yifan. A major supplier to Chinese auto and tech names such as SAIC and Baidu, Hesai reported revenue of RMB 793 million ($116.6 million) for the first nine months of 2022, representing an increase of 72.7% from a year earlier. By comparison, revenue of rival Velodyne declined by 38.4% year-on-year to $27.3 million over the same period. [Bloomberg, TechNode reporting]
