Sensing technology is facilitating the transition of drone delivery services from trial phases to regular daily operations.
Updated
January 23, 2026 10:41 AM
A quadcopter drone with package attached. PHOTO: FREEPIK
A new partnership between Hesai Technology, a LiDAR solutions company and Keeta Drone, an urban delivery platform under Meituan, offers a glimpse into how drone delivery is moving from experimentation to real-world scale.
Under the collaboration, Hesai will supply solid-state LiDAR sensors for Keeta’s next-generation delivery drones. The goal is to make everyday drone deliveries more reliable as they move from trials to routine operations. Keeta Drone operates in a challenging space—low-altitude urban airspace. Its drones deliver food, medicine and emergency supplies across cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dubai. With more than 740,000 deliveries completed across 65 routes, the company has discontinued testing the concept. It is scaling it. For that scale to work, drones must be able to navigate crowded environments filled with buildings, trees, power lines and unpredictable conditions. This is where Hesai’s technology comes in.
Hesai’s solid-state LiDAR is integrated into Keeta's latest long-range delivery drones. LiDAR stands for Light Detection and Ranging. In simple terms, it is a sensing technology that helps machines understand their surroundings by sending out laser pulses and measuring how they bounce back. Unlike GPS, LiDAR does not rely solely on satellites to determine position. Instead, it gives drones a direct sense of their surroundings, helping them spot small but critical obstacles like wires or tree branches.
In a recent demonstration, Keeta Drone completed a nighttime flight using LiDAR-based navigation alone without relying on cameras or satellite positioning. This shows how the technology can support stable operations even when visibility is poor or GPS signals are limited.
The LiDAR system used in these drones is Hesai’s second-generation solid-state model known as FTX. Compared with earlier versions, the sensor offers higher resolution while being smaller and lighter—important considerations for airborne systems where weight and space are limited. The updated design also reduces integration complexity, making it easier to incorporate into commercial drone platforms. Large-scale production of the sensor is expected to begin in 2026.
From Hesai’s perspective, delivery drones are one of several forms robots are expected to take in the coming decades. Industry forecasts suggest robots will increasingly appear in many roles from industrial systems to service applications, with drones becoming a familiar part of urban infrastructure rather than a novelty.
For Keeta Drone, this improves safety and reliability. And for the broader industry, it signals that drone logistics is entering a more mature phase—one defined less by experimentation and more by dependable execution. Taken together, the partnership highlights a practical evolution in drone delivery.
As cities grow more complex, the question is no longer whether drones can fly but whether they can do so reliably, safely and at scale. At its core, this partnership is not about drones or sensors as products. It is about what it takes to make a complex system work quietly in real cities. As drone delivery moves out of pilot zones and into everyday use, reliability matters more than novelty.
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Six technology companies showcased solutions for financial research, wealth management, consumer insight and security to investors and institutions.
Updated
November 14, 2026 11:54 PM
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Arnold Lau and King Leung (back row, fourth and fifth from left), Associate Directors-General of Investment Promotion at InvestHK, join the Ventureport team and representatives from the six technology companies. PHOTO: VENTUREPORT
Ventureport hosted the soft launch of InvestHK’s Fast-Track Connect at its AI+ Tech+ Finance+ gathering on 30 October, bringing more than 100 guests to Pier 1929 in Wan Chai.
Sponsored by InvestHK, the event brought investors, institutional representatives and technology companies together to explore investment and business partnerships. Six companies took the stage to showcase software solutions for financial professionals, consumer research, local AI computing and digital asset security.
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The Acting Head of Startups, at InvestHK, Chin-yung (CY), and the Senior Vice President (Fintech), Pauline Fan, introduced Fast-Track Connect. They explained how the agency’s international network connects it with technology companies seeking investment, customers and business opportunities in Hong Kong.
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Their remarks also highlight the need for a more structured approach to build these connections. Investors need easier ways to identify companies that match their interests, while institutions seeking new technology need access to businesses whose products could support their operations or benefit their customers.
To address this need, Fast-Track Connect provides an online platform where technology companies can publish profiles outlining their products and funding needs. Investors and corporate participants can identify relevant businesses and contact them to explore potential investments or collaborations. Service providers and community partners are also part of the platform. Alongside investors and corporate participants, these groups are designated as Champions on the platform.
Curated by InvestHK and supported by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, Fast-Track Connect builds on the Global Fast Track Programme. It aims to help local enterprises expand into Chinese Mainland, Southeast Asia and other markets.
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AlphaPai, an AI-powered investment research platform developed by financial technology company RabyteTech, presented tools for financial research, including gathering data, monitoring financial instruments and comparing information from corporate earnings calls.
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At the event, the team explained how users can give research instructions in everyday language, while the software retrieves and processes information to prepare reports and presentation materials. Examples included tracking market developments and comparing company statements over time. The team also emphasised the importance of traceable sources, allowing analysts to verify the information behind their research.
A2B2.AI, a fintech startup, presented AI- powered tools designed to support investors and wealth advisers. Its specialist AI agents—software designed to carry out particular tasks—help prepare client meeting briefings, monitor financial products approaching maturity and identify market developments relevant to individual clients, according to the team.
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For investors, the tool can help make sense of lengthy documents provided by advisers and bring information from different accounts together to assess risk exposure. For wealth professionals, the tools support preparation and follow-up around client meetings.
The team described its approach as combining AI with human expertise to support financial decision- making. It also clarified that the platform does not execute investment transactions on behalf of clients, leaving those decisions and actions in their hands.
Preferences AI, an AI startup specialising in synthetic consumer research, presented simulated consumer profiles that businesses can use to explore how different audiences might respond to products, pricing and marketing messages. These profiles generate modelled responses rather than feedback from people directly interviewed or surveyed.
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The company described that its profiles are grounded in population data and account for differences between local audiences Businesses can use them to explore pricing or packaging options, as well as ask follow-up questions to understand the reasons behind a particular response. The team also discussed testing its models and working with academics to help validate the approach. It said the technology could help businesses explore consumer preferences more quickly.
ByteFuture, an AI infrastructure startup, focused on running AI on users’ own hardware. It introduced Olares, its operating system, and Olares One, a device designed to run AI models and applications locally.
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Its applications included personal assistance, financial research and content creation. The team argued that users handling private documents or proprietary trading strategies may prefer to retain that material on equipment they control.
A demonstration of AI-generated video illustrated creative work the team said could run locally. It also described applications and agents available through its software marketplace.
PureGlobal, a fintech company, addressed digital asset custody: the systems used to safeguard access to digital assets. Its team described technology for protecting access credentials and supporting offline transactions without a conventional internet connection.
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The presentation focused on infrastructure for institutions holding and transferring digital assets, including security under different operating conditions.
SlowMist, a blockchain security firm, examined the risks of giving AI agents permission to read information and perform tasks. Its examples included malicious instructions concealed in material an agent might encounter and attacks exploiting access granted to software.
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The team discussed security auditing, monitoring and investigations alongside risks arising from third-party tools and an agent’s stored information. One scenario involved exposing a wallet’s recovery phrase, which can give someone control over its assets.