Coexisting Challenges and Opportunities.

Cai Jun, Investor Network

This April, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange witnessed a financial spectacle as Qunhe Technology (00068.HK, hereinafter referred to as 'the Company') made its grand debut. Dubbed the 'ice-breaking moment for Hangzhou's Six Little Dragons,' this initial public offering (IPO) not only achieved the most remarkable new stock performance on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for the year, with a staggering 171.65% surge at the opening bell, but also catapulted a previously obscure sector into the capital spotlight as the 'world's first spatial intelligence stock.'

From its modest beginnings in 2011, when three top graduates from Zhejiang University and Tsinghua University founded the company in a Hangzhou attic, to its emergence as a new darling of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange by 2026, the Company's journey is both a tale of financing progression for a Chinese SaaS enterprise and a microcosm of the spatial intelligence sector's evolution from the fringes to the forefront.

Capital Odyssey: The 11-Round Financing Journey

Qunhe Technology's path to capitalization serves as a blueprint for financing among China's high-tech enterprises. From securing a multi-million-yuan angel round to achieving a market valuation of several billion Hong Kong dollars, its financing trajectory clearly outlines a three-stage progression: 'technological innovation—scale expansion—valuation leap.'

In 2011, founders Huang Xiaohuang, Chen Hang, and Zhu Hao, armed with technical expertise from NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Amazon, established the company in Hangzhou with the vision of creating cloud-native spatial design tools. For the first two years, the team persevered with their own funds until 2013, when they secured a pivotal turning point with an angel round led by Linear Capital, raising several million RMB.

In 2014, IDG Capital spearheaded the Series A round with a $1.2 million investment, injecting crucial development funds into the company and initiating over a decade of deep collaboration. Subsequent rounds, including Series B in 2014 and Series C in 2016, saw continuous investments from early venture capital firms such as GGV Capital, Matrix Partners China, and Linear Capital, with cumulative financing exceeding $10 million and the company's valuation soaring to $500 million.

The financing logic during this phase was straightforward: validate technological feasibility, refine the core product experience, and seize early entry points in niche sectors. At the time, spatial intelligence was still a nascent field, and the patient capital injections laid the groundwork for core technological assets that would fuel subsequent breakthroughs.

2018 marked a watershed moment in the Company's financing history. In February, it completed a $57 million Series D+ round led by Hillhouse Capital, with participation from Shunwei Capital, propelling its post-money valuation to $1 billion and officially joining the unicorn ranks. Subsequent rounds, including another Series D+ in 2019 and Series E+ in 2021, saw expanding financing scales, with the 2021 Series E+ round raising $200 million and valuations once surpassing $2 billion.

In 2021, Qunhe Technology made its inaugural attempt to list on the U.S. stock market. Although it failed due to changes in the regulatory environment for Chinese concept stocks, this attempt underscored capital's recognition of its global competitiveness and accumulated sufficient brand and data assets for its subsequent shift to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Following the unsuccessful listing attempt, the company entered a four-year 'polishing period.' Prospectus data revealed that from 2023 to 2025, the company's revenue grew from 664 million yuan to 820 million yuan, with its gross margin climbing from 76.8% to 82.2%. In 2025, its adjusted net profit turned positive for the first time at 57.1 million yuan, marking a profitability inflection point.

In April 2026, the Company's Hong Kong Stock Exchange IPO finally materialized, with an issue price of HK$7.62 per share, raising approximately HK$1.092 billion in net proceeds. It attracted nine cornerstone investors, including Taikang Life, Sunshine Life, GF Fund, Hony Capital, and Mirae Asset, with cornerstone subscriptions accounting for nearly 40%. On its debut, the company's stock opened 171.65% higher, with a total market value exceeding HK$30 billion, delivering substantial paper gains to the founding team and top-tier institutions.

The Rise of Spatial Intelligence: From Niche to Core

Qunhe Technology's listing is not only a milestone for itself but also a landmark event for the spatial intelligence sector. Previously categorized as a 'niche field,' this sector is now emerging as the AI industry's second growth curve after large language models, fueled by AI technology empowerment and accelerated industrial digitization. Its underlying logic and development trends warrant in-depth analysis.

Traditionally perceived as a 'home design tool' through its core product, Kujiale, the Company has upgraded its positioning to a global provider of spatial intelligence infrastructure amid technological iterations.

This positioning upgrade stems from three major technological breakthroughs: first, the maturity of cloud-native architectures and GPU computing clusters supports ultra-high-definition rendering and real-time interaction, enabling efficient experiences like 'generating design solutions in 5 minutes and rendering visualizations in 10 seconds'; second, the deep integration of AI technology with spatial scenarios introduces functions like intelligent design and spatial semantic understanding, boosting design efficiency over 8-fold; third, the large-scale accumulation of a three-dimensional spatial database, with over 1 billion yuan invested, has built the world's largest physically accurate spatial database, providing a data foundation for commercialization.

According to Frost & Sullivan data, China's spatial design software market reached 40.2 billion yuan in 2024, up 19.9% year-on-year, and is expected to surpass 59.14 billion yuan by 2026, maintaining high growth rates above 20%.

Currently, the spatial intelligence sector exhibits a 'one dominant player, multiple strong contenders, ecological competition' landscape. Leveraging its first-mover advantage and technological accumulation, Qunhe Technology firmly leads the industry, serving 47,400 enterprise clients and 416,000 individual paying users by 2025, with a corporate client retention rate as high as 98.7%. Its core product, Kujiale, commands a 37% market share in the home design niche, leading the second-place competitor by 16 percentage points.

It should be noted that the Company's core competitive edge lies in its 'technology-data-ecosystem' closed loop: technologically, it has invested over 1 billion yuan in cumulative R&D, building a full-stack technological system from 3D modeling to AI design; data-wise, it has accumulated over 65 million registered users and massive spatial scenario data, creating a data flywheel effect; ecologically, it has formed deep ties with leading home furnishing enterprises like Kuka Home, Sofia, and Haier, covering the entire chain from design to production and marketing, constructing an irreplaceable industrial ecosystem.

Dual Challenges from Capital and Industry: Coexisting Concerns and Opportunities

Qunhe Technology's listing is a resounding success, but the tests from capital and markets have just begun. Behind its market value of over 30 billion Hong Kong dollars lie both growth expectations for the spatial intelligence sector and multiple challenges related to profit quality, industry cycles, and technological iterations.

First, despite achieving positive adjusted net profit in 2025, the 'quality' of profitability requires cautious assessment. On one hand, profitability mainly stems from cost reduction and efficiency improvements, with sales and marketing expenses slashed by 16.0% year-on-year in 2025, R&D spending reduced by 13.8%, and total staff optimized by 18%. On the other hand, revenue remains highly dependent on traditional subscription businesses, lacking diversified support. If traditional business growth slows, the company's performance will face pressure.

Second, the Company's business remains highly reliant on the real estate and home furnishing industries. Although it has mitigated single-industry risks by expanding into construction, smart cities, and other scenarios, real estate cycle fluctuations may still impact client payment willingness and budgets. The prospectus indicates that the Company will continue investing in R&D and market expansion in the short term, expecting to record net losses again in 2026, with a prolonged path to profit recovery.

Of course, beyond these concerns, the spatial intelligence sector's broad prospects offer long-term growth opportunities for Qunhe Technology.

First, the commercialization of AI technologies is accelerating, with new businesses like spatial AI large models and embodied intelligence datasets gradually taking shape, potentially upgrading the Company from a 'tool provider' to an 'intelligent solution provider' and opening up revenue growth ceilings. Second, global expansion is accelerating, with Coohom's overseas version already covering markets like North America, Japan, and the Middle East. Third, the industrial ecosystem continues to expand, with the Company extending from home design to construction, smart cities, and industrial manufacturing scenarios.

Ultimately, spatial intelligence is entering a golden development period. As the sector leader, the Company's future hinges on its ability to convert technological barriers into sustained profit growth, balance cost reduction with long-term R&D investment, and seize opportunities in globalization and scenario expansion. For capital, the Company's listing is not only a realization of investment returns but also a crucial starting point for strategic positioning in the '10-trillion-dollar spatial intelligence sector.'

Do you favor the Company's overseas development? What are your thoughts? Share in the comments (Produced by Thinker Finance)

Source: Investor Network