Recently, Standart Robotics (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. (Standart) submitted its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with CITIC Securities and Guotai Junan International serving as joint sponsors.

According to public information, Standart was founded in 2016 by Wang Yongkun, a post-90s entrepreneur from Heilongjiang Province who graduated from Harbin Institute of Technology. Despite receiving job offers from major companies, he chose to establish Standart to focus on industrial robotics.

**Revenue Growth and Narrowing Losses**

According to the prospectus and company website, Standart is committed to providing robotic solutions for a wide range of industrial scenarios, driving the transformation of manufacturing towards high-end and intelligent operations. The company currently focuses primarily on providing one-stop industrial intelligent robot solutions for the 3C, automotive, and semiconductor industries.

Based on global sales units of industrial intelligent mobile robot solutions in 2024, Standart ranked fifth with a 3.2% market share. The top four companies held market shares of 27.9%, 8.2%, 4.8%, and 4.2% respectively.

Although the company ranks fifth globally in the industrial intelligent mobile robot market share, its business is primarily domestic. Revenue from mainland China accounted for 89.8%, 87.5%, and 75.9% respectively across reporting periods, while revenue from Japan and other Southeast Asian countries represented 10.2%, 12.5%, and 24.1% respectively.

For instance, the final delivery of the currently popular Xiaomi SU 7 relies on contributions from Standart Robotics. As widely known, Xiaomi Corp. has received overwhelming consumer support since its automotive launch, but massive orders also mean enormous production pressure. Xiaomi partnered with Standart, utilizing its 100% laser SLAM autonomous mobile robot assembly production line at Xiaomi's smart factory to improve internal logistics efficiency and ensure timely delivery of large orders.

Notably, Xiaomi is also one of Standart's shareholders. According to corporate records, Xiaomi Smart Manufacturing holds 9.2879% of the company's shares. The executive partner of Xiaomi Smart Manufacturing is Beijing Xiaomi Enterprise Management Co., Ltd., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xiaomi.

The company's revenue comes from robot solutions and sales of robots and other related products. During 2022-2024 (the reporting period), Standart achieved a revenue growth rate of 68.4%, with revenues of RMB 96.275 million, RMB 162 million, and RMB 250 million respectively. Robot solutions contributed the majority of revenue, accounting for 88.6%, 87.6%, and 91% respectively, while robot sales and other revenue represented 11.4%, 12.4%, and 9% respectively.

Alongside revenue growth, the company's gross margin also increased steadily, reaching 12.9%, 31.6%, and 38.8% respectively. The gross margin for robot solutions rose from 10.2% in 2022 to 35.4% in 2024, while the gross margin for robot sales and others increased from 33.5% in 2022 to 73.5%.

With improved revenue and gross margins, Standart's losses narrowed, with annual losses of RMB 128 million, RMB 100 million, and RMB 45.144 million respectively. Adjusted net losses were RMB 124 million, RMB 94.931 million, and RMB 39.338 million respectively.

The company's cash-generating capability is also reflected in cash flows. Net cash flows from operating activities were negative RMB 89.777 million, negative RMB 120 million, and negative RMB 27.184 million respectively. While revenue grew, the company's cash-generating ability still needs improvement.

**Rising Customer Concentration and Plunging R&D Expense Ratio**

Behind the performance growth, Standart's customer base has become increasingly concentrated, with revenue from the top five customers accounting for 26%, 36.8%, and 41.3% respectively. Average transaction values per customer were RMB 353,000, RMB 352,000, and RMB 321,000 respectively, with 2024 showing an 8.81% year-over-year decline.

Meanwhile, Standart's trade receivables and bills receivable were RMB 28.994 million, RMB 51.817 million, and RMB 93.422 million respectively, representing a 222% increase in 2024 compared to 2022. As of the end of April 2025, the company's trade receivables and bills receivable stood at RMB 91.057 million.

For this IPO, the company plans to use proceeds for R&D and sales: (1) strengthening core robot technology platforms, robot products, and RoboVerse systems, and developing related proprietary robot technologies; (2) establishing and consolidating domestic and international sales and service networks, enhancing robot solution deployment capabilities, and promoting the company brand.

However, in recent years, both Standart's sales expense ratio and R&D expense ratio have declined consecutively, with the R&D expense ratio showing a particularly sharp drop.

Sales expense ratios were 59.9%, 35.4%, and 25.8% respectively, while R&D expense ratios were 57.7%, 34.6%, and 14.6% respectively.

Specifically, the company's sales expenses were RMB 57.695 million, RMB 57.358 million, and RMB 64.595 million respectively, while R&D expenses were RMB 55.525 million, RMB 56.098 million, and RMB 36.611 million respectively. R&D expenses declined 34.74% year-over-year in 2024.

As of the prospectus signing date, Standart owns one production base in Kunshan, Jiangsu. The capacity utilization rates of production facilities at this base were 70.7%, 81.7%, and 78.9% respectively at period-ends. The company stated it will continue establishing new production lines to meet growing business demands.

Angel investor and senior artificial intelligence expert Guo Tao commented that while Standart achieved double growth in revenue and profit amid positive industry prospects, the simultaneous decline in R&D and sales expense ratios, along with the structural imbalance where R&D investment consistently lagged behind sales investment, poses hidden risks. The smart factory sector experiences rapid technological iteration and fierce competition. Insufficient long-term R&D investment will weaken product differentiation capabilities and make it difficult to build long-term barriers.

Guo Tao further noted that current operating cash flows remain persistently negative, combined with rising customer concentration, reflecting business resilience that needs strengthening. The company should focus on R&D intensity, driving performance growth through technological innovation and optimizing customer structure, rather than relying solely on channel expansion. Only by treating R&D as a strategic pillar can sustainable growth be achieved amid industrial upgrading waves.

Public information shows that after completing its latest Series D financing in 2024, Standart's current valuation is RMB 2.1 billion, representing a 25-fold increase from the RMB 80.24 million valuation after its Pre-A round in 2017.

**Valuation Volatility and Controlling Shareholder's Low-Price Share Sales Draw Attention**

Notably, before the company's listing application, founders Wang Yongkun and Li Hongxiang both engaged in share transfers and low-price share sales.

Standart has undergone multiple financing rounds since 2016, with investors mainly including Xiaomi, Bohua Investment, and Liangxi Investment.

After the Pre-C round led by Bohua Investment in 2021, the company's valuation reached RMB 2.1 billion. However, after the Series C round in 2023, the valuation contracted to RMB 1.53 billion. Following the Series D round involving Liangxi Investment in 2024, the company's valuation returned to RMB 2.1 billion.

Notably, one month before the November 2021 Pre-C round, founder Wang Yongkun subscribed to 271,600 shares at RMB 92.5 per share as so-called equity incentive, while during the Series B round a year earlier, Standart's per-share price was RMB 80.54. In March this year, the price of Wang Yongkun's subscribed shares was revised to RMB 1 per share, meaning shares originally worth RMB 25.1221 million were transacted for only RMB 271,600.

In May this year, Wang Yongkun transferred 200,000 shares to Zhuhai Shengyin Jing at RMB 40 per share, while Li Hongxiang transferred 100,000 shares to Suzhou Heji at RMB 50 per share, cashing out RMB 8 million and RMB 5 million respectively. However, during last year's Series D financing, Liangxi Investment's per-share cost reached RMB 292.4, clearly indicating suspicions of low-price share sales by Wang Yongkun and Li Hongxiang.

Zhang Xiaorong, Director of the Deep Technology Research Institute, stated that the founders' transfer of equity at prices significantly below Series D financing levels on the eve of listing submission indeed raises suspicions of low-price share sales and has touched Hong Kong Stock Exchange regulatory red lines, likely triggering external doubts about speculative motives or company prospects. According to Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing rules, related party transactions must follow "fair and reasonable" principles. Transaction prices significantly deviating from market levels may be considered benefit transfers. If the company cannot prove legitimate transaction purposes, it may trigger exchange inquiries or even suspension of the listing process.

As of the prospectus signing date, controlling shareholder Wang Yongkun directly holds 12.8% of company shares and holds 14.3% through Standart Automation. Co-founder Li Hongxiang holds 3.8% of shares and acts in concert with Wang Yongkun, with voting decisions following Wang Yongkun's determinations. Therefore, Wang Yongkun effectively holds 30.9% of Standart shares. In June this year, Standart investors Zhuhai Shengyin Jing, Golden Summer, and Shenzhen Hongze delegated voting rights for a total of 10.0634 million shares to Wang Yongkun, bringing his ultimate control to 35.45%.

Xiaomi, Bohua Investment, and Liangxi Investment, as leading senior independent investors, hold 8.40%, 7.26%, and 14.29% of Standart shares respectively.