In the spring of 2026, this robot ‘eyes’ supplier finally secured its listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

On March 6, the International Cooperation Department of the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued a filing notification, approving LDROBOT to issue no more than 86.25 million ordinary shares for its overseas listing and to implement full circulation of its unlisted domestic shares. This milestone marks a significant step in LDROBOT’s journey to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, following its initial filing in May 2025 and a subsequent filing in December 2025.

LDROBOT’s IPO journey is essentially a strategic breakout attempt by a core robot component supplier seeking survival and growth amid industry changes.

From ‘Shovel Seller’ to ‘Gold Miner’

In the booming robotics industry, some companies focus on the upstream sector, acting as ‘shovel sellers’ to secure steady profits, while others root themselves in the downstream sector as ‘gold miners’ to capture high-margin profits.

LDROBOT has chosen to pursue both paths: first, by solidifying its ‘shovel-selling’ business, and then by venturing into ‘gold mining’ itself.

As a supplier of sensors and algorithm modules with visual perception technology at its core, LDROBOT has become an integral part of the industry’s infrastructure. According to data from CIC Consulting, it was the world’s largest intelligent robot company focused on visual perception by revenue in 2024.

Its products have empowered over 6 million robots globally, with an impressive client roster: seven of the world’s top ten well-known home service robot companies and all of the top five commercial service robot companies are long-term partners.

What further underscores its business resilience is its remarkable customer retention rate of 94%. In the first half of 2025, the net revenue retention rate surged by 169%, with existing customers not only continuing to collaborate but also increasing their procurement scale. This highlights LDROBOT’s solid position in the robotics industry and lays the foundation for its subsequent transformation.

However, relying solely on selling shovels ultimately faces a profit ceiling. Facing pressure from upstream costs and reduced bargaining power downstream, LDROBOT has resolutely forged a second growth curve by expanding into the complete machine market, primarily focusing on smart lawn mowing robots.

This is a strategically visionary choice. The global penetration rate of smart lawn mowing robots is less than 2%, but the potential market size is no less than RMB 300 billion. Moreover, with the mature development of courtyard culture in European and American households, demand is rigid.

Leveraging its expertise in visual navigation and obstacle avoidance algorithms, LDROBOT quickly opened up sales channels. In 2024, this business accounted for only 5% of revenue, but by the first half of 2025, it had surged to 20%. More importantly, the gross margin reached 45.6%, significantly exceeding the average level of its core component business.

This ‘gold-mining’ curve has not only optimized and driven the overall revenue structure but also enabled the company to achieve an adjusted net profit of RMB 2.18 million for the first time in the first half of 2025, demonstrating the value of its transformation to the market.

Survival Pressure: Why the Rush to Go Public?

Despite the compelling narrative, reality is harsh. LDROBOT’s urgency in pushing for a Hong Kong Stock Exchange IPO stems from undeniable survival pressures.

Financially, while LDROBOT has achieved revenue growth, it has not escaped losses.

In 2022, the company’s revenue was RMB 234 million, with a net loss of RMB 73.102 million. In 2023, revenue grew to RMB 277 million, but the net loss remained at RMB 68.491 million. By 2024, revenue further increased to RMB 467 million, yet the net loss still stood at RMB 56.483 million.

Although revenue has grown rapidly from 2022 to 2024, with a compound annual growth rate of 41.4%, the cumulative net loss over three years is nearly RMB 200 million. This phenomenon indicates significant issues in LDROBOT’s cost control and profit models.

As business expands, cost growth may have outpaced revenue growth, resulting in increasing revenue but sustained negative profits.

LDROBOT’s capital chain is also under immense pressure, with its operating cash flow consistently negative. In the first half of 2025, the net cash outflow from operating activities reached RMB 105 million, meaning the company’s cash expenditures exceeded cash receipts in daily operations, necessitating continuous reliance on external funding to sustain operations.

As of the first half of 2025, its cash and cash equivalents stood at only RMB 60.74 million. Based on the then-current loss rate, funds could only sustain operations for about 10 months. Such a tight capital chain poses a significant survival challenge for LDROBOT. Without timely external funding support, the company risks a capital chain rupture.

Although the company achieved a slight profit of RMB 2.18 million after adjustments in the first half of 2025, this was primarily driven by the high-margin lawn mowing robot business. Overall, LDROBOT’s profit model remains unstable. The gross margin of its traditional visual perception product business has been declining, from 27.3% in 2022 to 19.5% in 2024, rebounding to 25.4% in the first half of 2025 but still at a relatively low level.

While the lawn mowing robot business boasts high gross margins, market competition is fierce, and future profitability is uncertain. This indicates that LDROBOT must continuously optimize its business structure, reduce costs, and enhance product competitiveness to achieve sustainable profitability.

The IPO is not just a cherry on top but a lifesaver. The funds raised from going public will be the sole support for LDROBOT to survive and continue pursuing its ‘two-legged’ strategy.

Challenges and Risks: The Journey Ahead is Far from Smooth

Even if it successfully lists on the capital market, LDROBOT’s journey will be far from smooth.

On one hand, upstream giants are crossing over to squeeze its survival space. Companies like Hesai Technology and RoboSense, originally focused on automotive LiDAR, have aggressively entered the robotics sector in recent years, leveraging their mature technological accumulations and massive scale advantages to deliver a powerful blow to LDROBOT.

Public data shows that RoboSense has amassed over 3,400 robot clients, capturing more than 60% of the market share. Hesai Technology is also accelerating its pursuit, severely impacting LDROBOT’s once-stable ‘shovel-selling’ foundation.

On the other hand, downstream clients are turning from partners into competitors. Core downstream clients like Roborock and Dreame Technology have been increasing their R&D investments in recent years, developing in-house perception systems and reducing their reliance on external suppliers.

Roborock has even launched a self-developed perception system integrating LiDAR and RGB cameras, undoubtedly shaking LDROBOT’s customer base and risking core business order losses.

More troubling is the threat of trade barriers at the policy level. In November 2025, the European Commission officially initiated an anti-dumping investigation into lawn mowing robots originating from China, covering exports from October 2024 to September 2025. If taxes are ultimately imposed, it will directly weaken LDROBOT’s competitiveness in the European market.

Notably, Europe is the core market for lawn mowing robots, with a penetration rate of about 19% and accounting for 90% of global demand. Any obstruction would deal a severe blow to its second growth curve.

Furthermore, the historical baggage of the founding team poses potential governance risks. LDROBOT’s founders, Zhou Wei and Guo Gaihua, were once taken away by the police for investigation over trade secret disputes. Although ultimately acquitted, this past remains a market concern.

Zhou Wei, a legendary serial entrepreneur, previously founded Inmotion Technologies but saw it decline amid legal issues. Now, with his third venture, LDROBOT, whether it can shake off its historical shadow and stabilize corporate governance remains a key focus for investors.

In summary, LDROBOT’s IPO journey is a breakout battle and a do-or-die situation.

Epilogue

LDROBOT’s Hong Kong Stock Exchange IPO is fundamentally a strategic financing move tied to its survival. It has built a competitive defense with technology and forged a new growth curve with strategy, tearing open a crack in the seemingly saturated robotics industry chain.

However, the capital market will not buy the story indefinitely. What investors truly care about is: Can it maintain its technological edge amid fierce competition from giants? Can it restructure cooperation models amid clients’ self-research trends? Can it find alternative markets amid trade frictions?

Going public merely grants entry; the real test has just begun. Whether LDROBOT can transition from struggling to leading not only determines the fate of a single company but also serves as an example for Chinese hard tech companies to break through amid globalization headwinds.