A lidar maker the Pentagon brands a Chinese military company quietly wires up America’s robotaxis, trucks, and even an airport. Nvidia is one of its partners.
Hesai makes many of the sensors self-driving machines use to see. The Shanghai firm also sits on a US Department of Defense blacklist of Chinese military companies, CNBC reports. The label blocks Pentagon contracts. It does nothing to stop American firms using the sensors, and Hesai’s US footprint keeps growing.
Blacklisted, but everywhere
Hesai holds about a third of the global market for automotive lidar. Its sensors sit inside Amazon’s Zoox robotaxis, trucking firms Waabi and Kodiak, and delivery outfit Nuro. They even watch the gates at New York’s JFK airport. An expanded deal, unveiled at January’s CES, made Hesai an option on Nvidia’s self-driving platform too.
Price explains the reach. Hesai says it has cut the cost of a unit from more than $10,000 to under $200. Critics counter that the price only works thanks to Chinese state subsidies. Hesai denies that.
