Driver Assistance Tech Maker Must Battle Investor’s IPO Claims

Hesai Group and parties who signed off on its initial public offering must defend against investor allegations that they understated the severity of a margin disparity between driverless and driver-assistance technology sales.

“At a minimum,” the investor leading the case plausibly alleged IPO documentation “failed to disclose the magnitude of the disparity between Autonomous Mobility margins and LiDAR margins, and that this disparity was so severe that the shift in product mix would materially alter Hesai’s overall profitability,” Judge Colleen McMahon said Wednesday, while tossing some other claims.

Hesai makes three-dimensional light detection and ranging technology, called LiDAR, which supports ...