LimX’s $200 million round puts China’s humanoid IPO rush in focus

Chinese humanoid robot maker LimX Dynamics is moving toward a public listing after raising $200 million, a sign that the country’s robotics startups are starting to test public markets. For retail investors, the rush matters because humanoids are becoming a listed-market theme, not just a venture capital bet.

LimX said in a release that its latest pre-IPO funding round valued the company at 15 billion yuan, or $2.21 billion. A pre-IPO round is private financing raised before a company sells shares to public investors through an initial public offering.

Founder Will Zhang told reporters that going public had become necessary for the company, according to CNBC, which translated his Mandarin remarks. Zhang compared the moment to the path taken by Chinese electric vehicle startups Nio, Xpeng and Li Auto, which listed in the U.S. between 2018 and 2020. He said that once a technology matures, a company that does not list risks fading out, citing Chinese EV maker WM Motor as an example.

LimX said it is already working on an IPO, likely in Hong Kong, and is in a confidential review stage. That means the company is preparing materials with regulators without making the full application public yet.

Why robotics startups want public money

Humanoid robots are expensive to build, test and ship. A listing can give a company access to a broader pool of capital, which can help fund manufacturing, research and customer deliveries. It also gives early investors a possible path to cash out some of their holdings, though IPO timing and valuation can change.

The sector is drawing heavy funding in China. Investment in Chinese humanoid robot companies reached 47.09 billion yuan, or $6.95 billion, in the second quarter, according to data provider Xiniu. That was more than twice the first-quarter level and more than six times the amount from the same period a year earlier, Xiniu said.

The surge comes as China has more than 100 humanoid companies, according to CNBC, and as Beijing promotes “embodied AI,” a term for artificial intelligence built into physical machines that can interact with the real world.

Other investors in LimX’s latest round included UAE-based Stone Venture, Italy-based GGG, Germany-based Redstone VC, Lens Technology, IDG Capital, WestSummit Capital, Nio Capital and Hefei Binhu Industry Development Group, according to LimX’s release.

More listings are lining up

LimX is not alone. China has accelerated approval for Unitree, another humanoid robotics company, to list in Shanghai, while Hong Kong is processing applications from more than 500 companies across sectors, according to CNBC and Hong Kong exchange data.

Morgan Stanley said in a report last week that competitive pressure could continue as more industrial and collaborative robot companies pursue IPOs. The firm pointed to DeepRobot and Leju as sector players seeking listings soon.

Morgan Stanley also forecast 18% growth in China’s industrial robot market this year and shipments of 50,000 humanoid robots.

LimX is aiming to build fully autonomous commercial service robots. The company said it plans to begin a multi-year effort to ship thousands of humanoids to the Middle East and is delivering its Luna entertainment-focused humanoid robot to customers in South Korea.

Zhang said the core technology for humanoid robots has moved past the first invention stage, according to CNBC. He said the next challenge is building products that work well enough for customers’ actual needs.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.