Seyond's Solid-State LiDAR Enters Mass Production, Shaking Up AV Market

LAS VEGAS, NV – December 30, 2025 – As the global technology industry prepares to descend upon Las Vegas for CES 2026, LiDAR solutions provider Seyond is positioning itself for a pivotal showcase, unveiling a complete end-to-end sensor portfolio headlined by its mass-production-ready, fully solid-state LiDAR, Hummingbird. The announcement signals a critical phase in the race to deploy safe and scalable autonomous systems, not just in passenger vehicles but across robotics and intelligent infrastructure.

Seyond, formerly known as Innovusion, will use the high-profile event to debut the Hummingbird series, which has already secured what the company calls a “world-first OEM design win.” This move transitions solid-state LiDAR from a promising concept to a tangible, scalable reality for the automotive industry, while the company’s broader portfolio strategy aims to consolidate the complex sensor supply chain for developers of autonomous technology.

A Milestone for Mass Production

The centerpiece of Seyond’s CES presence is the Hummingbird D1, its first fully solid-state LiDAR designed for automotive OEMs. Unlike traditional mechanical or MEMS-based LiDARs that use moving parts to steer laser beams, the Hummingbird employs a fully electronic scanning architecture. This design choice eliminates mechanical components, promising exceptional durability and reliability in the demanding, vibration-prone environment of a moving vehicle. Its compact size, combined with an ultra-wide 140° × 100° field of view and minimal blind spot, is engineered to provide the high-resolution, real-time 3D perception necessary for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and higher levels of autonomy.

Critically, Seyond states the Hummingbird D1 is already in mass production, having started its lines in November 2025. This readiness is backed by a significant, though currently unnamed, partnership. The company announced in August 2025 that the sensor had been selected by a “premium brand under one of China's top automakers” for a high-end intelligent vehicle model slated for mass production in 2026. This design win is a major validation for solid-state technology, which has long been pursued by the industry for its potential advantages in cost, manufacturability, and robustness over mechanical predecessors.

For automotive engineers, the Hummingbird's support for a satellite architecture, where raw data is sent to a centralized processing unit, offers further advantages. This approach can improve system efficiency, reduce the cost and complexity of individual sensor units, and allow for more scalable and upgradable perception systems over the life of a vehicle platform.

Navigating a Fiercely Competitive Landscape

While Seyond’s technological advancements are significant, they arrive in a market defined by intense competition. The company's claim as a “global leader” is rooted in its strong performance in 2022, when industry reports from Yole Intelligence credited it with a majority market share in LiDAR for passenger cars. However, the landscape has shifted dramatically. By 2024, reports indicated Seyond's market share in the global passenger vehicle LiDAR market stood at 12.8%, placing it behind competitors Hesai (20.3%), Huawei (19.1%), and RoboSense (16.7%). These four China-based companies now collectively dominate a significant portion of the global automotive LiDAR market.

Seyond’s financial trajectory reflects this dynamic. The company has demonstrated impressive revenue growth, climbing to $160 million in 2024. Yet, a substantial portion of this revenue—over 91% in 2024—has historically been tied to its role as the exclusive LiDAR supplier for Chinese EV manufacturer Nio. Recognizing this dependency, Seyond has actively sought to diversify. A recent design win with Leapmotor, whose Lafa 5 electric hatchback will feature Seyond LiDAR, marks a key step in broadening its customer base. The new Hummingbird contract with another major Chinese OEM further advances this strategy.

The competitive field extends beyond China. Companies like Luminar, with its high-profile partnership with Mercedes-Benz, and Innoviz, which secured a landmark deal with BMW for Level 3-5 autonomous vehicles, are also major forces. Each company is betting on slightly different technological approaches and business models to capture a piece of the burgeoning autonomy market, making CES 2026 a crucial battleground for demonstrating technological superiority and production readiness.

The All-in-One Perception Strategy

Beyond the flagship Hummingbird, Seyond is promoting a broader strategic vision centered on becoming a one-stop shop for perception hardware. Its full-spectrum portfolio covers the entire perception stack: the ultra-long-range Falcon K, the long-range Robin E1X, the mid-range Robin W, and now the short-range, solid-state Hummingbird. The company argues that sourcing all LiDAR requirements from a “single, trusted partner” dramatically simplifies development for customers.

For an automotive OEM or a robotics developer, integrating sensors from multiple vendors can be a significant engineering headache, involving disparate software interfaces, validation standards, and supply chain logistics. By offering a unified portfolio, Seyond aims to reduce that integration complexity, shorten development timelines, and ensure a consistent standard of quality and validation across the entire sensor suite. This ecosystem approach is a strategic play to embed itself more deeply with customers, moving from a component supplier to an integrated perception partner.

Beyond the Passenger Car: Infrastructure and Logistics

Seyond's strategy also looks beyond the highly competitive automotive sector. The company is making a deliberate push into robotics and intelligent infrastructure, markets where LiDAR's precision 3D sensing can unlock significant efficiency and safety gains. This diversification is underscored by the announcement of the Hummingbird D1-R for robotics and a live demonstration at CES of an autonomous logistics vehicle from a customer that uses its Robin W LiDAR for navigation.

Furthermore, Seyond is making a strategic play for the U.S. market by offering select sensor configurations from U.S.-based production lines designed to meet Build America, Buy America (BABA) compliance. This federal requirement, part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, mandates that manufactured products used in federally funded projects have over 55% of their component costs sourced domestically. By meeting this standard, Seyond positions itself as a prime candidate for government-funded smart city and intelligent transportation system projects, which are expected to be a major growth area for LiDAR technology. This compliance provides a distinct advantage in regulated and security-sensitive environments, opening up a lucrative market segment less accessible to competitors without a U.S. manufacturing footprint.

As Seyond takes the floor at CES 2026, it will present more than just a new piece of hardware. It will showcase a multi-pronged strategy aimed at navigating a cutthroat market through technological innovation with its solid-state LiDAR, simplifying customer integration with its end-to-end portfolio, and creating new opportunities through strategic compliance and market diversification.