TL;DR：
机器人行业正经历一场前所未有的资本狂潮，大量企业涌入市场寻求融资，以支撑高昂的研发投入并寻求穿越周期的机会。然而，在资金热潮之下，多数公司仍面临严峻的商业化挑战，盈利能力堪忧，迫使其转向战略投资者和海外市场以寻找真正的应用场景和持续增长点。
The air in Zhejiang, Shanghai, and indeed Hong Kong's financial centres, has recently been infused with an unprecedented "metallic tang" of robotics. The mechanical beings, once clumsily learning to walk in laboratories, are now flocking en masse to the capital markets, staging a spectacular drama of "cash hunts". From Unitree Robotics initiating its IPO coaching to Agibot's rumoured "reverse merger" 1, and over a dozen robot companies and their upstream suppliers collectively filing for listing in Hong Kong, the capital's "feeding frenzy" reached an unprecedented high in the first half of this year. The humanoid robotics sector, in particular, leads the charge, with its financing events already several times that of the entire previous year 2. This inevitably prompts a question: Has the spring of robotics truly arrived, or is this merely a sophisticated sequel to another "cash-burning" saga?
This torrent of capital primarily serves to "replenish the blood" of those warriors wielding "steel arms" on future battlefields. At the cutting edge where artificial intelligence intersects with the physical world, research and development costs are an abyss, especially for industries like humanoid robotics that are still in their "infancy". Breakthroughs in practicality and the establishment of business models both require colossal investment. Take UBTech, the "first humanoid robot stock" listed in Hong Kong, for instance: its cumulative net loss over the past three years has exceeded 3 billion RMB, with cash reserves even insufficient to cover bank borrowings 3. To sustain itself, the company has had to frequently issue new shares, raising over 4.3 billion HKD since August 2024 alone, much like a patient desperately needing a transfusion. The public listing platform is undoubtedly its lifeline. In stark contrast, early movers who failed to access the secondary market in time, such as CloudMinds, which once planned a US IPO but faltered, now face the grim reality of capital chain breaks, layoffs, and even "halted operations" 1.
Yet, not all robots are struggling in the mire of losses. Unitree Robotics, the company renowned for its "robot dogs", stands out as a clear stream. Its founder, Wang Xingxing, disclosed that the company's annual revenue has surpassed 1 billion RMB, maintaining profitability since 2020 1. This is undoubtedly a rare gem in an industry largely defined by "burning cash". It proves that in certain niche segments, technology can indeed be converted into tangible wealth. However, even Unitree faces a "cooling" trend in the consumer market; once "hard-to-get" products are now being sold at discounts on second-hand platforms, and daily rental fees have plummeted from over 10,000 RMB to a mere 3,000 RMB 1. This undoubtedly sounds an alarm for the entire industry's commercialization path. As Golden Sand River Ventures managing partner Zhu Xiaohu sharply queried: "Who would spend over 100,000 RMB to buy a robot to do these tasks?" 1 This blunt question, like a surgeon's scalpel, precisely dissects the pain point of humanoid robot commercialization—the lack of clear and high-value application scenarios.
从资本输血到场景赋能
Facing the commercialization bottleneck, robot companies are attempting new strategies: transforming simple "capital transfusions" into "scenario empowerment". The focus is no longer on aimlessly burning cash for R&D, but on introducing strategic investors with industrial backgrounds to jointly explore potential application territories. Agibot's strategic investment from CP Group is a case in point. This multinational conglomerate boasts a vast business network spanning over 100 countries worldwide, encompassing retail giants like 7-Eleven and Lotus Supercenter. Agibot hopes to leverage CP Group's extensive reach in life sciences, new retail, and elder care services to find "utility" for its humanoid robots 1. Similarly, Unitree Robotics has attracted capital from giants like China Mobile, Tencent, Alibaba, and Geely, and has already won a bid for China Mobile Hangzhou's humanoid bipedal robot OEM service procurement project 1, signalling a potential shift towards the more promising B-to-B market. This represents a pragmatic pivot, a crucial step from the laboratory to the workshop, store, and even hospital.
工业的坚守与全球的远航
In contrast to humanoid robots, which are still in the "customer-seeking" phase, the industrial and consumer robot sectors have largely "matured" their commercial paths, with relatively established downstream application scenarios. They are the unsung heroes on factory assembly lines, the welcoming ambassadors in hotel lobbies, and even the cleaning aids in homes. However, maturity also implies fierce competition and increasingly squeezed profit margins. Consequently, these companies are even more reliant on capital to carve out new blue oceans in an intensely red market. Going overseas is undoubtedly the next big bet for many industrial and consumer enterprises. For instance, Yunji Technology, which specializes in hotel service scenarios, has its online robots covering over 20 countries worldwide; and Geek+, a company deeply rooted in the warehouse AMR sector for years, sees its overseas revenue accounting for more than 70% 1. Hong Kong, as an international financial hub, has thus become an ideal springboard for them to seek an "overseas pass". Wingtech Intelligent, which filed for a Hong Kong IPO in late June this year, plans to use part of its raised funds to expand into the Latin American and European markets and establish a subsidiary in Hong Kong. Its current overseas revenue accounts for only 9.5% 1, demonstrating its considerable ambition for international markets.
Overall, this "gold rush" in the robotics industry is both a reflection of technological maturity and market aspirations, and an exposition of the long and arduous road to commercialization for high-tech industries. The influx of capital undoubtedly provides the necessary oxygen for innovation, but the ultimate victors will by no means be determined solely by the amount of funding raised. Rather, they will be those enterprises capable of transforming laboratory marvels into real-world commercial value, and grounding "science fiction" into "practical utility". In the coming years, we may well witness a brutal industry shake-out. Only those "iron men" who truly pinpoint their commercial positioning, effectively control costs, and consistently create customer value, will be able to run steadily towards the finish line in this globalized commercial marathon.