Black Sesame Technologies passes listing hearing on Hong Kong Stock Exchange

Beijing (Gasgoo)- On June 12, Black Sesame Technologies, a prominent player in the autonomous driving chip sector in China, achieved a significant milestone by passing the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) listing hearing. This marks another crucial step towards its listing on the HKEX.

Photo credit: Black Sesame Technologies

Black Sesame Technologies is the first company to submit an A-1 listing application under HKEX's new 18C rules, which came into effect on March 31, 2023. The company initially filed for its IPO on June 30, 2023, aiming to become the first publicly traded autonomous driving computing chip company in China.

According to the latest prospectus, Black Sesame Technologies reported revenues of 61 million yuan, 165 million yuan, and 312 million yuan for 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. Of these, revenues from autonomous driving products and solutions were 34 million yuan, 142 million yuan, and 276 million yuan, accounting for 56.6%, 86%, and 88.5% of total revenues for those years. The company also recorded net losses of 2.357 billion yuan, 2.754 billion yuan, and 4.855 billion yuan over the same period.

The substantial losses were primarily due to heavy R&D investments, with expenditures of 595 million yuan, 764 million yuan, and 1.363 billion yuan in 2021, 2022, and 2023, representing 78.7%, 69.4%, and 74% of total operating expenses, and 984%, 461.8%, and 436.2% of revenues, respectively.

As of December 31, 2023, Black Sesame Technologies had shipped over 152,000 SoC products. To date, the company has established partnerships with over 49 automakers and Tier-1 suppliers, including FAW Group, Dongfeng Motor Group, JAC Group, HYCAN, ECARX, Baidu, Bosch, ZF, and Marelli. The company has secured cooperation intents for 23 car models from 16 automakers and Tier-1 suppliers.