What Fortsense does

Fortsense (阜时科技有限公司) is a Shenzhen-headquartered fabless semiconductor company founded in 2017 that designs SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) chips for solid-state LiDAR systems, 3D machine-vision modules for biometric authentication, and under-display fingerprint sensors. Its core technology stack centers on the FL6031 large-format SPAD-SoC — a 360×150-pixel (>50K effective resolution) Stacked-BSI device integrating SPAD sensing, TDC arrays, histogram processing, and DSP on a single chip — built in strategic partnership with Tower Semiconductor. The company's portfolio also includes linear and single-line SPAD chips, single-point dToF sensors, 3D structured-light face recognition modules (with integrated cat-eye camera and palm-vein variants co-developed with Tencent Cloud), and what it claims as the world's first LCD under-display fingerprint solution. Fortsense's flagship FL00112 became the first domestically developed LiDAR receiver chip to pass AEC-Q102 automotive-grade certification in 2022, and the company holds National Specialized and Novel "Little Giant" enterprise status with over 900 IP applications and 500+ granted patents.

The company serves four primary customer segments: automotive OEMs (via Tier-1 LiDAR module suppliers, with Geely 9X and 8X as flagship design-ins, plus custom orders from five-plus LiDAR vendors), robotics and industrial automation (robotic lawn mowers, AGV/AMR navigation), smart home and smart locks (KFZ, Sakura, Enter, Beck, Kaadas, and other branded lock OEMs), and consumer electronics (under-display fingerprint for budget smartphones and IoT devices). Reported unit economics include 2.9 million facial recognition modules shipped in 2023 with >40% domestic market share in 3D face recognition chips for smart locks (rank #1 in China), and the Geely 9X launching with four SPAD chips per vehicle to deliver 360-degree perception.

Fortsense's revenue mechanics are predominantly B2B hardware sales of SPAD chips and 3D vision modules to OEMs and Tier-1 suppliers, supplemented by chip-design licensing arrangements with strategic partners. The go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales (Geely, Ofilm), OEM-embedded supply (chips designed into customer LiDAR products), and channel partnerships with LiDAR module makers (Raytine/光之矩, Wuhan Wanji/武汉万集, Tanden/探维科技, Blue Ocean Optoelectronics/蓝海光电) that integrate Fortsense silicon into finished automotive and robotics products. Distribution is being extended internationally through a 2024 partnership with Junpuri Intelligence. The company is privately held and venture-backed, having raised >RMB 100M in Series A (October 2018), a several-hundred-million-yuan C1 round led by Chengdu Science Innovation Investment (December 2022), strategic investment from Chery's Ruicheng Fund and Suzhou Intelligent Connected Vehicle Fund (February 2023), and >RMB 200M in a strategic round led by Zhejiang Linhai Jiahe Changsheng Fund (December 2025).

Name

Fortsense

Legal name

阜时科技有限公司

Website

https://fortsense.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Fortsense is a Shenzhen-based fabless semiconductor company (founded 2017) that designs SPAD chips for solid-state LiDAR, 3D facial-recognition modules for smart locks, and under-display fingerprint sensors, supplying automotive OEMs like Geely, Tier-1 LiDAR makers, and smart-lock brands with >40% share of China's 3D face-recognition chip market.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

LiDAR and 3D Machine Vision Sensor Chips

NAICS

Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Analog Front-End (AFE) ICs (Sensor/Medical/Industrial AFE) (HDAHAIAJ)

Keywords

• SPAD chip design
• Solid-state LiDAR sensors
• 3D machine vision
• Biometric authentication chips
• Facial recognition modules

Headquarters

HQ city

Shenzhen

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. SPAD LiDAR Chip Sales: Sale of SPAD-SoC chips to LiDAR manufacturers for integration into automotive and robotics LiDAR systems. Chips are designed into customer products and sold to automotive OEMs and robotics companies.
2. 3D Facial Recognition Modules: Sale of 3D structured light modules and face recognition solutions to smart lock manufacturers and smart home companies. Modules include hardware, algorithms, and sometimes integrated cat-eye cameras.
3. Fingerprint Sensor Modules: Sale of fingerprint recognition chips and modules for smart locks, smartphones, and IoT devices. Includes under-display fingerprint for LCD panels.
4. SPAD-SoC Chip Licensing: Licensing of SPAD chip designs to strategic partners for custom LiDAR applications. Partners receive chip specifications and reference designs.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fortsense designs and supplies SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) chips and 3D machine vision modules that serve as core receiving and sensing components in solid-state LiDAR systems and biometric authentication products. The company offers area-array, linear-array, and single-line SPAD chip families alongside dToF sensor chips for automotive, robotics, and industrial applications. Its flagship FL6031 SPAD-SoC integrates SPAD sensing, TDC, DSP, and interfaces on a single chip, achieving >50K effective pixels, and is deployed in Geely's 9X flagship sedan. The company also provides 3D structured light face recognition modules for smart locks and access control.

Product overview

Fortsense offers a portfolio of LiDAR core chip products and 3D machine vision solutions. The LiDAR product line centers on SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) chips — including area array, linear array, and single-line series — and dToF (direct Time-of-Flight) sensor chips, which serve as the core receiving elements in full-solid-state FLASH LiDAR for autonomous driving, robotics, and industrial applications. The flagship FL6031 area-array SPAD-SoC integrates SPAD sensing, TDCs, DSP, and interfaces on a single chip, achieving >50K effective pixels and enabling solid-state LiDAR with no moving parts. Complementing the LiDAR line, the 3D product line provides structured light face recognition modules (including integrated cat-eye and palm vein variants) for smart locks, access control, and security systems. The company positions itself as China's first to release and mass-produce area-array SPAD LiDAR receiver chips and solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 万向光控™: 全固态光扫描技术品牌，实现高功率激光束在大角度范围内的可编程、高精度、快速偏转与扫描
• FL6031
• OmniLumi™

Products and services

• Area Array SPAD Chip Series (面阵SPAD芯片系列) including FL6031 SPAD-SoC Large-format SPAD (Single Photon Avalanche Diode) array chip family serving as the core receiving element in full-solid-state FLASH LiDAR systems. The FL6031 flagship integrates SPAD sensing, TDC arrays, histogram processing, and DSP modules on a single SoC using Stacked-BSI process, achieving 360x150 pixel resolution (>50K effective pixels). Used by LiDAR module manufacturers, automotive Tier 1 suppliers, and robotics OEMs.
• Linear Array SPAD Chip Series (线阵SPAD芯片系列) Linear SPAD chip family designed for scanning-type LiDAR and industrial detection applications requiring line-scan depth measurement. Used in LiDAR modules targeting industrial inspection and line-scan applications.
• Single-Line SPAD Chip Series (单线SPAD芯片系列) Single-line SPAD chip family for LiDAR modules targeting robotics, industrial automation, and automotive short-range detection applications.
• Single-Point dToF Sensor Chip (单点dToF芯片) Single-point direct Time-of-Flight (dToF) sensor chip for distance measurement, gesture recognition, and proximity sensing in smartphones, IoT devices, and robotics applications. Built on SPAD technology with 10^6 gain and 3cm distance accuracy.
• 3D Face Recognition Cat-Eye Integrated Module (人脸识别猫眼一体产品) Integrated smart lock module combining 3D structured light face recognition with a built-in doorbell camera (cat-eye), enabling dual-mode authentication and remote video monitoring in a single device for smart lock and access control applications.
• 3D Face Recognition + Palm Vein Integrated Module (人脸识别掌静脉一体产品) Combined face and palm vein recognition module co-developed with Tencent Cloud, offering dual-biometric authentication for enhanced security in smart access control and payment terminals.
• FL00112 Automotive-Grade LiDAR Receiver SPAD Chip Automotive-grade qualified LiDAR receiver SPAD chip; the first domestic chip in China to pass AEC-Q102 certification. Applied in vehicle-grade LiDAR products for ADAS and autonomous driving systems.
• LCD Under-Display Fingerprint Solution (LCD屏下指纹方案) World's first LCD under-display fingerprint sensing solution enabling in-display fingerprint authentication in TFT-LCD panels for budget smartphones and IoT devices, using depth-learning neural network algorithms to overcome LCD backlight opacity.

Quantifiable outcome

• FL6031 achieves 360×150 resolution (>50K effective pixels), exceeding Sony IMX459 (12K pixels)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• 欧菲光 (Ofilm)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2026Joint development of multiple solid-state LiDAR products using Fortsense SPAD-SoC chips. Leverages Ofilm's optical design and system integration capabilities for smart lawn mowers, autonomous driving, and embodied AI.
• 均普智能 (Junpuri Intelligence)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2024Strategic cooperation to expand LiDAR SPAD chips globally for autonomous driving, intelligent manufacturing lines, humanoid robots, and industrial AGV applications. Leverages Junpuri and Junsheng Group's global customer network.
• Tower Semiconductor (Tower Semi)coreTechnology or Integration · 29 August 2023Strategic manufacturing partnership for SPAD chip production. Tower provides advanced Stacked-BSI process technology enabling FL6031's high performance. Joint paper published on 3D imaging for LiDAR applications.
• 光之矩 (Guangzhiju)coreTechnology or Integration · 29 August 2023Customer using FL6031 chips for solid-state FLASH LiDAR products. Launched at CES 2024 overseas showcase.
• 武汉万集 (Wuhan Wanji)coreTechnology or Integration · 29 August 2023Customer with WLR-75 LiDAR product using Fortsense FL6031. Collaborated on solid-state LiDAR development and commercialization.
• 探维科技 (Tanden)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 May 2023Strategic cooperation for next-generation solid-state LiDAR targeting NOA applications. Jointly developing automotive-grade LiDAR for passenger vehicles with Tanden.
• 腾讯云 (Tencent Cloud)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 April 2023Jointly launched '人脸+掌静脉' (Face + Palm Vein) biometric authentication products. Tencent Cloud's palm vein technology combined with Fortsense's face recognition modules for smart lock applications.
• 成都 (Rong Pia Cup)minorOthers · 23 March 2023Won championship at 2023 Rong Pia Cup electronics information industry competition in Chengdu, showcasing LiDAR chip technology.
• 镭神智能 (Raytine)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 September 2022Strategic cooperation for LiDAR SPAD chip innovation and mass production. Raytine is a leading all-scenario LiDAR provider and national specialized 'Little Giant' enterprise.
• 华中科技大学 (Huazhong University of Science and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 June 2019Established joint '人工智能与机器视觉技术联合实验室' (AI and Machine Vision Technology Joint Laboratory). Combines HUST's technical沉淀 and talent advantages with Fortsense's chip design capabilities to develop AI algorithms, chips, and applications.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sony Semiconductor Solutions: Sony's IMX459 is the global benchmark SPAD-based LiDAR sensor and Fortsense's primary technical reference (FL6031 claims >50K pixels vs. Sony's 12K). Both target automotive LiDAR with similar stacked SPAD architectures.
• onsemi: onsemi offers SiPM and SPAD-based sensors for automotive LiDAR, with deep Tier 1 automotive customer relationships globally. Competes directly in automotive-grade LiDAR receiver chips.
• Hamamatsu Photonics: Leading Japanese manufacturer of SPAD, SiPM, and photodetector components for LiDAR, medical imaging, and scientific instrumentation. Directly comparable component-level competitor in the SPAD space.

Broad incumbents

• STMicroelectronics: ST offers SPAD-based dToF and indirect ToF sensors across consumer, industrial, and automotive. Broad portfolio overlaps with Fortsense's dToF and 3D face recognition product lines.
• Analog Devices: Broad-line analog/mixed-signal IC supplier including AFE, ToF, and LiDAR signal chain components. Overlaps with Fortsense's mixed-signal SPAD-SoC integration capabilities at the industrial/automotive customer base.
• Texas Instruments: TI offers mmWave, ToF, and analog front-end ICs for automotive sensing and industrial measurement. Comparable broad customer base in industrial and automotive sensing applications.

Emerging players

• Aeva Inc. Aeva develops FMCW LiDAR-on-chip with integrated SPAD-like detectors for automotive and industrial applications. Competes at the system level using custom silicon similar to Fortsense's chip-first approach.

Others

• Tower Semiconductor: Foundry partner providing Stacked-BSI process for Fortsense's SPAD chips. While a supplier, Tower also serves competing SPAD designers and is foundational to Fortsense's manufacturing roadmap.

Regional players

• Hesai Group: China's largest automotive LiDAR systems maker. While a customer of SPAD-class sensors, Hesai's vertically integrated chip strategy creates indirect competitive pressure on Fortsense's downstream customers.
• RoboSense: Major Chinese automotive LiDAR systems integrator that incorporates SPAD-based receivers. Customer-adjacent peer in the same Chinese LiDAR value chain; also a potential SPAD chip customer for Fortsense.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fortsense