China raises bar for humanoid robot IPO to cool the red-hot sector: CNBC

China's securities regulator has laid out three specific criteria for humanoid robot startups seeking to go public, including sustainable revenue, narrowing losses, and core technology, as Beijing seeks to cool the frenzied pace of listings in one of its hottest investment themes amid market volatility, CNBC reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The humanoid robot applicants need to have sustainable revenue and commercial orders, and their losses must be narrowing, with a three-year forecast required, the report said.

The robot startup must also own core technologies such as robotic brains and robotic hands, according to the report.

The higher bar for initial public offering lowers market expectations, predicting that only a handful of, or even no, robot startups could successfully go public, the report said.

Currently, at least two dozen humanoid-related embodied artificial intelligence companies have applied for IPO in Hong Kong alone, including Deep Robotics, X Square Robot and Agibot.

This came as China reportedly used informal "window guidance" to freeze some humanoid-robot listings, after the leading robot company Unitree Robotics' shares had been on a roller-coaster ride in the market.

Unitree's stock skyrocketed more than fivefold in its Shanghai debut a month ago, while it has slumped 58 percent from its peak now.

More than 150 humanoid robot enterprises now operate in China - a number that keeps climbing, with over half of which are startups. Authorities have previously warned that a bunch of similar robot companies flocking to public listings will compress room for the sector's research and development.

The red-hot sector has attracted 47.09 billion yuan (HK$55.11 billion) in investment during the second quarter - more than double from the first quarter, representing over six times year-on-year growth, data from industry data provider Xiniu showed.

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