Shenzhen-based robotic startup UBTECH is going to launch initial public offerings at one of mainland China’s stock exchanges, said the company’s founder and CEO.
Shenzhen-based robotic startup UBTECH is going to launch initial public offerings at one of mainland China’s stock exchanges, said the company’s founder and CEO ZHOU Jian (周剑) in a press releasing conference on 20 February.
The company closed its latest round of funding of USD 820 million in August 2018 led by Tencent, which valued the company at USD 5 billion.
UBTECH was founded in 2012, widely known as a consumer robotics maker. The company also focuses on developing AI software platform. Its products include the humanoid robot Alpha, educational coding robot Jimu, and the cloud-based business service robot Cruzr.
In the company’s last annual press conference held in September 2018, Zhou Jian indicated that his company was preparing for a new round of financing, and the company’s valuation will reach USD 30 billion in 3 years.
“We have been preparing for a new series of fundraising from the middle of 2017, and we closed Series C funding in May 2018, which valued the company at USD 5 billion,” says Zhou Jian. “But the capital market is more cautious now, money will concentrate more on top AI companies, so the situation might be very unfavorable for startups that don't have core technologies.”
Zhou Jian didn’t provide any further details about which stock exchange will the company choose to be listed at his keynote speech. Analysts widely consider that the company will go public at the planned science and technology innovation board at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, a new board that will be established in the first half of 2019, adopting a loosely-regulated mechanism for initial public offerings, potentially competing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, or even the New York Stock Exchange, where Chinese technology startups tend to be listed.