Chinese regulators, according to Reuters, have started to slow down the preparation of IPOs for humanoid robot manufacturers. Sources from the agency link this to the high volatility of individual companies' stocks and the need to scrutinize their revenue structure more closely. For this purpose, an informal recommendation mechanism known as 'window guidance' is reportedly being used.
One of Reuters' interlocutors described the sector's company listings as effectively suspended, while another characterized the situation as a temporary slowdown without an official ban. The China Securities Regulatory Commission did not respond to the agency's request. Previously, The Information reported that the agency had unofficially informed several investment banks and investment firms about tightening requirements for humanoid manufacturers' listings. Additional attention to the sector was drawn by the dynamics of Unitree Robotics after its debut on the STAR Market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange on August 19: the company listed shares at 150.8 yuan with a valuation of about 61 billion yuan ($9 billion) and raised 6.1 billion yuan ($905 million). Retail investor demand exceeded supply by more than 8,000 times. On the first day, the shares closed at 845 yuan – 460% above the IPO price, and at the beginning of the session, quotes reached 1,100 yuan. By September 21, the shares had lost 55% from their peak value.
Separately, regulators are examining the origin of revenues for robotics companies, especially if a significant part of the business is related to local government projects. This includes, in particular, data collection centers for robot training and joint ventures where government entities could provide 80–90% of the initial funding. Such projects can generate orders and increase revenue, but when preparing for listing, the question arises of how much these figures reflect sustainable demand from independent clients. One source close to industry investors suggested that after excluding revenues related to data collection centers, the valuation of individual manufacturers could drop by 60–70%. Similar questions were previously publicly raised by Mech-Mind Robotics head Shao Tianlan, pointing to related party transactions and other revenue sources whose sustainability requires separate assessment. At least six Chinese humanoid robot manufacturers are preparing to go public, including Deep Robotics, X Square Robot, and AgiBot.
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