By Pencil Road | Xin Xin

Recently, Shenzhen-based UFACTORY disclosed its prospectus after passing the hearing and is about to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, potentially becoming China's "first listed collaborative robot company".

UFACTORY's main business is collaborative robots. In layman's terms, these are robots designed to collaborate directly with humans.

According to a report by CIC, UFACTORY has ranked first in China's collaborative robot exports for six consecutive years. In 2023, based on shipments, UFACTORY ranked second globally and first in China in the collaborative robot industry, occupying 13% of the global market share. A true super hidden champion.

Notably, from August 2015 to December 2022, UFACTORY completed a total of seven funding rounds, with its valuation surging from an initial 10 million yuan to 3.531 billion yuan, an increase of over 300 times.

- 01 -

In 2015, founder Liu Pei established UFACTORY in Shenzhen. Starting with a team of only five, the company gradually grew into an enterprise with over 300 employees through crowdfunding.

Today, UFACTORY's product line includes two types of collaborative robots (four-axis and six-axis), totaling 27 models, widely used in manufacturing, retail, healthcare, STEAM education, and scientific research.

Among them, as one of the core products, the revenue share of six-axis collaborative robots has significantly increased in recent years, rising from 14.9% in 2021 to 46.8% in 2023, while the revenue share of four-axis collaborative robots has decreased.

These robots can collaborate with humans in the same workspace, offering higher flexibility and safety compared to traditional industrial robots.

For example, in a café, collaborative robots can simulate manual operations to make lattes, improving efficiency and enhancing the novelty of the customer experience.

Categorized by series, UFACTORY's products can be divided into four types: CR Series, Nova Series, Magician Series, and M Series.

CR Series: Targeted at industrial manufacturers, offering load capacities ranging from 3 to 20 kilograms, widely used in industries such as automotive, consumer electronics, semiconductors, healthcare, chemicals, and retail.

Nova Series: Characterized by lightweight and user-friendliness, designed for commercial environments like cafés and clinics, offering load capacities of 2 and 5 kilograms.

Magician Series: Designed for educational institutions to assist students in STEAM coursework, such as AI, programming, collaborative robot applications, and scientific research training.

M Series: Targeted at the light manufacturing industry, offering two four-axis collaborative robots, MG400 and M1 Pro, suitable for small-batch production and small to medium-sized manufacturing.

- 02 -

From 2021 to the first half of this year, UFACTORY sold over 53,000 collaborative robots globally, with business coverage in over 80 countries and regions, including major overseas markets such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Data shows that UFACTORY has ranked first in exports among all Chinese collaborative robot companies for six consecutive years. According to CIC data, based on shipments in 2023, UFACTORY ranks second globally and first in China in the collaborative robot industry, with a global market share of 13%.

The collaborative robot market, where UFACTORY operates, is currently in a rapid growth stage. It is expected to reach a global market size of 4.95 billion dollars by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 36.6%.

Although China started late, it has become the largest single market, with a compound annual growth rate of 33.8%.

UFACTORY's direct customers are distributors covering countries such as China, Russia, Japan, and Germany, involving various fields such as cloud computing, educational technology, and robotic automation. End-users include companies like BYD, Microsoft, Omron, Siemens, and Dell.

By providing customized solutions, UFACTORY helps customers upgrade their production lines to improve product quality and production efficiency.

For example, on the fully automated production line for the BYD Yangwang U8 vehicle, BYD uses collaborative robots, reducing labor costs and ensuring process consistency.

- 03 -

In domestic competition, UFACTORY's main competitors include two other companies known as the "Three Collaborative Robot Giants": JAKA Robotics and AUBO Robotics.

In the international market, major competitors include traditional industrial robot manufacturers such as Denmark's Universal Robots, Germany's KUKA, Switzerland's ABB, and Japan's FANUC. As of the end of 2023, Universal Robots led UFACTORY with a 14.8% market share.

Over the past three years, UFACTORY has achieved steady revenue growth, with revenues of 174 million yuan, 241 million yuan, and 286 million yuan, respectively, representing a compound annual growth rate of 28.3%. However, net profits have been unsatisfactory, with losses of 41.756 million yuan, 52.477 million yuan, and 103 million yuan during the same period, representing loss rates of 24%, 21.8%, and 36%, respectively.

The core reasons for the losses are high R&D investment and market expansion costs, especially pricing strategies adopted amidst fierce market competition.

Data shows that from 2021 to the first half of 2024, R&D expenditures accounted for 26.9%, 21.6%, 24.6%, 28.4%, and 26.1% of revenue, respectively.

As the demand for intelligent transformation in the manufacturing industry increases, the application scope of collaborative robots is also expanding.

For example, in the automotive manufacturing and electronics assembly industries, the demand for efficient, flexible, and easy-to-program collaborative robots continues to rise. According to IDC forecasts, by 2027, spending on data and analytics software will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 16% to reach 340 billion dollars.

This article does not constitute any investment advice. Images are from the company's official website.