Infiforce与UDeer.ai称计划最早明年启动香港IPO，机器人赴港上市潮继续升温

Another two Chinese robotics start-ups have confirmed plans to launch initial public offerings in Hong Kong as early as next year, boosting the city’s role as a prime fundraising hub for China’s fast-growing technology sector. The two Hangzhou-based firms – both founded by former executives at Alibaba Group Holding – are part of a wave of Chinese embodied artificial intelligence start-ups looking to go public as the industry rushes to scale up production. Infiforce Technology Group, the developer of a cognitive system for robots known as “AtomBrain”, is raising capital ahead of a potential Hong Kong listing, according to company founder Isabella Bai. “We are aiming for [a listing in] 2027, and preparation is currently under way,” said Bai, a former Alibaba vice-president. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Bai noted that industry financing and research and development spending were moving at a rapid pace, but declined to disclose specific targets or investor details. Founded in 2023, Infiforce completed a new funding round of nearly 1 billion yuan (US$149 million) earlier this month and recently secured overseas orders, including a 1,000-unit contract in Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, UDeer.ai, another Hangzhou-based embodied AI firm, is also planning a Hong Kong IPO, according to the company’s founder. “We are launching our IPO process, including restructuring red-chip structures and corporate shareholding reforms,” founder Robin Chen told the SCMP on the sidelines of a tech summit in Hong Kong on Wednesday. “Once these steps are completed, we plan to submit our IPO application in the first half of next year. Hong Kong is our first choice, but our teams are simultaneously evaluating A shares as well,” added Chen, who previously led robotics research at the Damo Academy, Alibaba’s in-house research initiative. Founded in 2023, UDeer already mass produces autonomous cleaning robots that use large-model reasoning to identify and remove litter – such as fallen leaves, waste paper and cigarette butts – rather than blindly sweeping entire areas. “Our revenue target for 2026 is around 300 million to 500 million yuan, aiming for around 1 billion yuan in 2027,” Chen said. The company’s shipments are expected to hit the high thousands this year and reach around 50,000 units next year, according to Chen. In the medium-to-long term, UDeer aimed to develop serving robots with arms capable of handling soft or irregular items like takeaway bags and performing complex interactive tasks such as retrieving order slips, he added. The two start-ups join a wave of robotics companies going public in Hong Kong. However, Puhua Capital – a venture capital firm that mostly invests in hard-tech and embodied intelligence start-ups – has warned that valuations are becoming overheated. “Overall, valuations are currently on the higher side due to capital clustering, with 80 per cent to 90 per cent of market capital concentrated in the top 10 per cent to 20 per cent of tracks,” said Shen Qinhua, founding partner of Puhua Capital. “Embodied AI has been one of the hottest tracks since early last year, and valuations have surged rapidly – it’s clearly a bit overblown right now.” Shen said this year was the “first year of mass production” for the embodied AI industry, but noted that companies and the market still needed time to digest the current high valuations. For Chinese tech firms, going global was no longer optional, but essential, he added. Over the past two years, Hong Kong has become a crucial gateway for Chinese firms looking to raise funds and expand overseas, according to Shen.