Haiqing Zhiyuan Lists on HKEX

Author｜Lu Ziye

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The "First Physical AI Stock" Arrives on HKEX

On June 22, Haiqing Zhiyuan officially listed on the HKEX. On its debut, the stock gapped up sharply, with an issue price of just HK$7.2, opening at HK$29—a surge of over 302%. It peaked at HK$30 during intraday trading, briefly pushing its market cap above HK$23.1 billion. It ultimately closed at HK$26.7, up 270.83%.

In fact, during the offering phase, Haiqing Zhiyuan demonstrated strong fundraising appeal: Hong Kong's public offering attracted over 250,000 frantic bids, oversubscribed nearly 7,200 times, freezing over HK$440 billion in capital—directly ranking among the top five on the HKEX's main board history.

Capital fervor stems from Haiqing Zhiyuan's alluring label: the "First Physical AI Stock." While many tech firms focus on generative AI, Haiqing Zhiyuan takes a different path, aiming to equip machines with "super eyes" to capture secrets invisible to the human eye in the physical world.

Based on revenue in 2024 and 2025, Haiqing Zhiyuan ranks first in China's multispectral AI industry in two categories: overall market share and large model service market share.

Equipping Machines with "Super Eyes"

Haiqing Zhiyuan is a multispectral AI technology company. What is multispectral physical AI? While it sounds highly technical, it essentially solves the "blind spot" problem of traditional vision technology.

In the vast world, the visible light perceivable to the human eye and ordinary cameras is just a fraction of the spectrum. Under nighttime, foggy, or intense light conditions, ordinary cameras often fail to see. However, Haiqing Zhiyuan's core technology fuses visible light, infrared, ultraviolet, sound waves, millimeter waves, and even terahertz waves, combined with AI algorithms, to equip machines with multispectral "super eyes."

When a transformer is about to overheat, when an underground cable is silently aging, or when a chemical plant experiences an invisible gas leak... ordinary cameras remain oblivious, but Haiqing Zhiyuan's devices can "sense" and issue early warnings.

This full-link system, known as "Optical-Sensing Graph Computing," enables Haiqing Zhiyuan's products to be widely deployed in complex To G (government) and To B (enterprise) scenarios such as smart cities, firefighting, industrial safety, and data center operations.

To support this hardware, Haiqing Zhiyuan has developed two "black technologies": the htOS operating system designed for edge computing, reducing developer workload by 80%; and the htFS file system tailored for embedded devices, claiming to extend storage device lifespan by 100 times—a "lifesaver" for security and industrial sensors.

However, what truly drove capital markets to assign an ultra-high valuation was Haiqing Zhiyuan's "transformation" in business model.

Rewind to 2023: Haiqing Zhiyuan was a typical hardware company. Back then, its revenue relied mainly on selling multispectral AI modules and sensing terminals, with a gross margin of just 12.2% and even incurring losses exceeding RMB 18 million.

By 2024 and 2025, Haiqing Zhiyuan played a trump card: the "Zhiyuan Origin Large Model." It shifted from merely selling hardware to offering cloud-based intelligent analysis services. Hardware became merely the "pipeline" for data collection, while subsequent algorithm iterations, model maintenance, and anomaly warnings became a steady "stream" of revenue.

This shift reversed the company's financials: from FY2023 to FY2025, revenue reached RMB 117 million, RMB 523 million, and RMB 669 million, respectively, with a compound annual growth rate nearing 139%.

In 2025, revenue from multispectral AI large model services surged from 0% to 53.1%, overtaking hardware as the top revenue source. This high-margin business (with gross margins once reaching 49.5%, and subscription services even exceeding 70%) directly propelled the company to profitability in 2024 and 2025.

The Third Venture of a Security Industry Veteran

Behind Haiqing Zhiyuan, the AI dark horse, stands a duo with over 20 years of industry experience: Zhou Bo (Chairman and CEO) and Chen Yonggang (Executive Director and Technical Expert).

The two graduated from Xi'an University of Science and Technology and Dalian University of Technology, respectively. Since 1999, they have worked side by side, holding positions at Chengdu Keli Electronics and Shenzhen Tumin Industrial. In 2001, Keli's founder, Zhang Shaofeng, established Tumin Industrial, and Zhou and Chen joined.

In 2005, Zhou and Chen teamed up again to found Shenzhen Huanghe Digital Technology, specializing in network video surveillance and successfully participating in the national-level "Safe City" project. In 2009, the company was acquired by a Canadian-listed company.

After achieving financial freedom, Zhou and Chen keenly recognized the growing limitations of traditional security relying solely on visible light. Thus, in 2013, they teamed up once more to establish Haiqing Zhiyuan in Shenzhen's Bao'an District, from the outset focusing on the less-traveled path of "multispectral AI."

However, Haiqing Zhiyuan's capital journey was far from smooth.

In late 2017, Haiqing Zhiyuan attempted a share-swap merger with Hunan Lebo Technology, primarily engaged in smart parking, briefly becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lebo. However, strategic disagreements between the two sides nullified expected synergies. In January 2020, they amicably parted ways, dissolving the equity swap.

After regaining independence, Haiqing Zhiyuan began intensive fundraising, completing five rounds of financing totaling RMB 260 million from 2020 to 2025. Its valuation soared from RMB 350 million in Series A to RMB 3.55 billion in Series D.

But behind the high valuation lay brutal capital gambles. During Series A financing, Zhou and others signed stringent performance commitment clauses with investors. Due to cumulative net profit shortfalls from 2020 to 2022, the bet was lost. In May 2025, Zhou and Chen were forced to transfer over 160,000 shares at a nominal price of RMB 1 to 11 investment institutions as compensation.

Despite setbacks, Haiqing Zhiyuan not only survived but also established two major production bases in Shenzhen and Longyou, Zhejiang. Especially after relocating its SMT automated production line to Zhejiang, operating costs dropped by at least 20%, successfully driving over 50% new customer growth in the Yangtze River Delta region.

Today, with Haiqing Zhiyuan's listing, early investors have reaped substantial rewards. Based on opening market cap, the largest external shareholder, Zheshang Venture Capital (holding 13.22%), saw returns exceed 25-fold, while Langke Investment (holding 5.87%) achieved an astonishing 113-fold return.

Concerns Emerge: Can the Billion-Dollar Valuation Hold?

Based on revenue in 2024 and 2025, Haiqing Zhiyuan ranks first in China's multispectral AI industry in two categories: overall market share and large model service market share.

However, Haiqing Zhiyuan faces several concerns. While revenue is rising, net profit fell to RMB 29.35 million in 2025, down 27.4% year-on-year. Where did the money go?

On one hand, listing expenses reached RMB 17.43 million. On the other, costs ballooned: R&D spending surged 101.6% year-on-year (to RMB 50.79 million), while general administrative expenses expanded by 259% (to RMB 46.8 million). The costs of scaling up are eroding profit margins.

Transitioning from hardware to major G-end and B-end deals also tests the capital chain. In 2025, Haiqing Zhiyuan's net cash flow from operating activities was -RMB 130 million. By the end of 2025, cash on hand stood at just RMB 65.6 million, while short-term borrowings reached RMB 152 million.

By the end of 2025, accounts receivable hit RMB 173 million, with collection days extending to 95 days and overdue amounts exceeding RMB 67 million. Inventory balances skyrocketed 150% to RMB 80.2 million, with inventory turnover days jumping from 44 to 206. This indicates that while service revenue is profitable, hardware inventory backlogs and slow collections are tightening the noose around Haiqing Zhiyuan's neck.

From 2023 to 2025, revenue from the top five clients accounted for 38.3%, 59.0%, and 46.8%, respectively. Revenue health is highly tied to the procurement budgets of a few key clients; should major clients cut spending, performance could "collapse."

Furthermore, while Haiqing Zhiyuan is the nominal industry leader, its market share is just 3.3%-3.5%. This indicates a highly fragmented, dispersed market for multispectral AI. The top five players combined hold just 10.9% market share. While Haiqing Zhiyuan leads, its advantage over the second-place competitor is less than 1 percentage point, constantly at risk of being overtaken by infrared thermal imaging giants or traditional vision leaders.

Undeniably, the multispectral AI track remains a blue ocean. Institutions predict the global multispectral AI market will exceed RMB 300 billion by 2030. As the "First Physical AI Stock" to list on the HKEX, Haiqing Zhiyuan has gained capital market favor, but its true test has only just begun.

References:

"Stock Surges 327%! HKEX's 'First Physical AI Stock' Lists, Leading in Niche AI Large Models Nationwide," Zhidx;

"Shenzhen's Hidden Champion: Equipping Cameras with 'Super Eyes,' Annual Revenue Hits RMB 523 Million, Lists on HKEX," Pencil News;

"Another IPO Emerges from Shenzhen's Bao'an! 50-Year-Old Founder Makes Multispectral AI Nation's Top," Cyzone;

"Chased by RMB 440 Billion in Capital, How Solid Is Haiqing Zhiyuan's 'First Physical AI Stock' Status?" Elements;

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