Baidu Selects Hesai in $300M Deal to Supply Lidar for Self-Driving Taxis

Chinese company Hesai has won an exclusive deal to supply long-range lidar for Baidu’s next-generation self-driving taxi.

And the contract promises to be an extremely lucrative one for the company based in Shanghai, potentially worth up to $300 million, according to sales projections for the new autonomous vehicle (AV).

The launch of the new robotaxi was announced at Baidu’s Apollo Day in Wuhan in May. The sixth-generation self-driving cab, known as Yichi 06, was first unveiled in 2022, but is now ready to go into service for Baidu’s Apollo Go ride-hailing arm.

Baidu is confident it can help Apollo Go on its way to becoming the world’s first profitable self-driving taxi platform, thanks to the company’s belief there will eventually be around 100,000 in service in China. The rollout is predicted to be extensive due to a price of 200,000 yuan, which is in the region of $28,000 – more than 50% less than its predecessor.

Hesai already supplies lidar for the fifth-generation Baidu self-driving taxi, which was the first driverless vehicle of its type to gain commercial licenses to operate in China – in Wuhan and Chongqing – and is now available in a number of cities.

The Yichi 06 will benefit from four ultra-high-definition, long-range AT128 lidar units, which have a detection range in excess of 656 feet and provide 360-degree high-definition 3D perception.

The likely widespread rollout of the Yichi 06 reflects the dramatic scaling of the Chinese self-driving taxi market, with investment firm Pacific Securities estimating it will exceed $162.6 billion in 2025 and $403.6 billion in 2030, creating huge demand for Lidar sensors and major opportunities for Lidar manufacturers.

Hesai believes it is well placed to take advantage, having shipped more than 380,000 units in the first quarter of this year, and pointing out that it took 74% of the market in 2023, according to a “Lidar for Automotive 2024” report by consultant Yole.

It also claims to supply nine of the top ten Level 4 autonomy companies globally, including Amazon-owned Zoox, Nvidia and Nuro.

Hailing the new Baidu deal, David Li, Hesai CEO and co-founder, said: “The autonomous driving industry has rapidly evolved in recent years and today’s surge of autonomous driving in China is a testament to the breakthroughs we’ve made in smart driving. Advanced sensors like lidar are accelerating the adoption of autonomous driving.”