When insiders in the embodied intelligence scene discuss the most talked-about yet elusive startup of 2025, many point to Singapore-based Sharpa. In its 2020 IPO prospectus, Hesai said it was already shipping LiDAR units for robotics applications, including unmanned delivery and cleaning. Today, embodied intelligence companies such as Unitree Robotics and Vbot use Hesai sensors in their robots. Teams from the autonomous driving sector have increasingly moved into embodied intelligence, spawning startups such as Tars, founded by former Huawei scientist Chen Yilun. “The common thread between automotive LiDAR and embodied intelligence is spatial perception,” said one financial adviser in the field.