Key Takeaways:
Iplusmobot has applied to list in Hong Kong, counting Lenovo and ByteDance-owned Quantum Jump Technology among its backers
The intelligent robotics company relies overwhelming on China for its revenue, and continues to lose money
By Bai Xin Rui
The latest hardware and software breakthroughs are bringing robotics applications out of science fiction novels and into the real world in growing numbers, especially in industrial settings where they perform repetitive but complex tasks. One such maker of general-purpose intelligent mobile robotics, Zhejiang Iplusmobot Technology Co. Ltd., is hopping on a financial conveyor belt leading straight to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, hoping to capitalize on a recent wave of interest in robotics IPOs.
The company is steered by Xiong Rong, its chairman who holds a PhD in control science and engineering, and is primarily responsible for Iplusmobot's overall strategic planning. Xiong not only calls the shots from her chairman's position, but is also a major shareholder controlling 29.61% of the company's equity before the listing.
Other notable shareholders include computing giant Lenovo, with 5.8% of the company, and Beijing Quantum Jump Technology, which holds 4.9% and is reportedly connected to TikTok owner ByteDance. Another major backer is Supcon Technology, a Shanghai-listed industrial AI platform company, which holds 2.35%. Investment banking heavyweight CICC is underwriting the deal, suggesting it could raise substantial capital.
Iplusmobot's core business centers on intelligent mobile robots. Intelligent robots are broadly defined as models capable of intelligent behavior, leveraging AI, machine learning, and advanced control technologies to give them capabilities analogous to human cognition and physical skills. Intelligent mobile robots are a subgroup equipped with navigation devices and controlled by onboard systems. Using environmental perception and modeling capabilities, they can behave autonomously within complex environments, performing tasks such as goods transportation, material handling, picking and delivery.
Robust growth
The intelligent ...
