Source: Star Daily
Author: Yu Jiaxin

The humanoid robot sector continues to be vibrant.

Recently, Yuejiang Technology, known as the "first stock of collaborative robots", launched its "dexterous operation + direct knee walking" embodied intelligent humanoid robot. Affected by this news, the company's Hong Kong stock price soared over 40% on March 12, and as of the time of writing, it has increased by over 8%.

The new robot, named Dobot Atom, stands 1.53 meters tall and weighs 62 kilograms. It is a full-size bionic humanoid robot designed for industrial-grade precision operations, equipped with the self-developed Neurally Driven Agile Operation System (NDS) and the bipedal walking system (AWS), capable of completing over 100 complex operation tasks and suitable for industrial scenarios with a working table height of 700-1000 mm.

According to Yuejiang, the new product has already begun scene cooperation with leading domestic car manufacturers, electronic manufacturing plants, and coffee and tea shops, and will enter trial production and mass production by the middle of this year.

In the next three years, Yuejiang will fully embrace embodied intelligence, promoting intelligent robots into various industries and homes across the country, a related person from Yuejiang Technology stated to the Star Daily reporter.

As the first stock of collaborative robots, it has accumulated losses of over 0.25 billion yuan in the past three and a half years.

Yuejiang Technology's founder Liu Peichao and chief scientist Lang Xulin are alumni of ShanDong University, both holding master's degrees from the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In 2015, Liu Peichao, an "80s generation" entrepreneur, teamed up with four other alumni from ShanDong University, including Liu Zhufu, to develop the first desktop-level lightweight intelligent robotic arm. This product received over a thousand orders on the overseas crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, with the crowdfunding amount nearing 0.62 million US dollars. Thus, Yuejiang Technology was officially established and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 23, 2024, being referred to in the industry as China's "first stock of collaborative robots."

According to its prospectus, from 2021 to the first half of 2024, the revenue of Yuejiang Technology was 0.174 billion yuan, 0.241 billion yuan, 0.287 billion yuan, and 0.12 billion yuan at the end of each period, respectively. However, from 2021 to 2023, Yuejiang Technology had net losses of 41.756 million yuan, 52.477 million yuan, and 0.103 billion yuan, along with a net loss of 59.883 million yuan in the first half of 2024. Over the past three and a half years, Yuejiang Technology has accumulated losses exceeding 0.25 billion yuan.

As of the disclosure date of the prospectus, Yujiang Technology has launched 27 models of collaborative robots across 4 series, with load capacities ranging from 0.25 kilograms to 20 kilograms, with clients including Fujifilm Holdings Corporation Unsponsored ADR.$BYD Company Limited (002594.SZ)$、$Toyota Motor (TM.US)$, Samsung,$Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ)$and so on.

The six-axis, four-axis collaborative robots, and composite robots are the main revenue Sectors of Yuejiang Technology. Among them, the four-axis collaborative robots are used more in education and light industrial fields; the application scenarios of the six-axis collaborative robots are more extensive, covering Industries such as retail, Medical, and chemical.

According to a reporter from the Star Daily, in recent years, the revenue structure of Yuejiang Technology has changed significantly: six-axis collaborative robots have gradually replaced four-axis collaborative robots to become the main revenue contributor, accounting for over 50% in the first half of 2024. Meanwhile, the revenue scale of its four-axis collaborative robots has significantly reduced, with the revenue share shrinking from 68.8% in 2021 to 30.5% in the first half of 2024.

Yuejiang Technology informed the Star Daily that the company plans to configure 10 automated production lines, with a maximum annual production capacity of 0.1 million units.

Currently, Yuejiang Technology has deployed over 0.08 million units across 15 major Industries such as Autos, New energy Fund, and 3C electronics, covering more than 80 countries and regions. A relevant person from Yuejiang Technology stated that the industry with the highest application volume for the company's products is industrial manufacturing, particularly in the fields of Autos, 3C electronics, and lithium batteries; the fastest-growing industry is Medical health (surgical assistant robots) and New energy Fund (battery disassembly), with an annual demand growth rate exceeding 50%. "By 2024, our robotic arms have been applied in over 200 surgeries worldwide, and are extensively used in the flexible production lines of battery modules at Contemporary Amperex Technology."

In terms of embodied AI, the aforementioned person introduced that Yuejiang's planning and layout of embodied intelligent robot products cover four best carriers of AI technology, including AI + dual-arm robots (X-Trainer), AI + single-arm robots (portable general data collection platform PocketGo), AI + wheeled + dual-arm (Mobile X-Trainer), and AI + bipedal + dual-arm (humanoid robot Atom) four series of embodied intelligent robot products.

In April 2024, the company will launch the embodied intelligent robot X-Trainer. A person related to越疆科技 stated to the Star Daily reporter that this product has already been applied in leading manufacturing enterprises such as BYD,$Luxshare Precision Industry (002475.SZ)$and Chuangyuan.

Regarding the overseas market, it is mentioned that "Currently, our overseas revenue accounts for 59%. We have established localized teams in North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, customizing products according to regional demands (such as the力控 mechanical arm for the German automotive industry), and co-building ecosystems with local integrators."

According to Tianyancha, Yuedao Technology has received a total of 8 rounds of financing before going public, with investors including China International Capital Corporation, Shenzhen Capital Group, Qianhai Mother Fund, Zhongwang Capital, Daosheng Capital, Songhe Capital, Wens Capital, China Merchants Capital, Yunhui Capital, Shidun Capital, Agricultural Bank International, Junyi Venture Capital, Ningbo Meishan, Zhuhai Tongdao, CRRC Capital, Zhuoyuan Asia, Shiyi Capital, Jiufeit Investment, Guoying Junhe, Mitai Investment, Hailian Zhongzheng, and Huarong Tianze among dozens of institutions, with a post-investment valuation of 3.5 billion yuan.

Collaborative robot manufacturers are intensifying their efforts in the humanoid robot sector.

Collaborative robots refer to robots with operational mechanical arms used for direct human-robot interaction or collaboration in shared spaces or during close-proximity operations between humans and robots. They are characterized by security standards, ease of use, greater flexibility, and inherent ability to cooperate with workers, and are widely used in industries such as manufacturing, commerce, medical health, and research and education.

Based on the shipment volume in 2023, Yuedao Technology ranks among the top two in the global collaborative robot industry and ranks first among all collaborative robot companies in China, with a global market share of 13%.

According to a reporter from the Star Daily, due to the gross margin of collaborative robots being much higher than that of industrial robots, more companies are entering this field. Global industrial robot giants have also entered the collaborative robot sector, leading to severe homogenization competition, with major manufacturers engaging in an intense "price war."

Taking Yuedao Technology as an example, from 2021 to 2023, the average selling price of the company's six-axis collaborative robots has dropped from 0.0659 million yuan per unit to 0.0566 million yuan per unit, a decrease of 14.11%. By the first half of 2024, the average selling price has further declined to 0.0471 million yuan per unit. In contrast, the company's gross margins for 2021 to 2023 were 50.5%, 40.8%, and 43.5%, respectively.

Currently, many manufacturers are expanding their business boundaries into the embodied intelligence sector. Industry insiders believe that with the release of policy dividends and the maturity of the supply chain, collaborative robot companies may be the first to open a gap for large-scale applications in the humanoid sector.

At the 2024 Industrial Expo, JAKA Robotics introduced its humanoid robot JAKA K-1 for the first time. The JAKA K-1 features a humanoid construction with 29 joints (excluding dexterous hands), boasts a repeat positioning accuracy of ±0.1mm, and is equipped with high-precision, high-rigidity 7-axis dual arms, with a single-arm load capacity of about 3-5kg.

In 2023, Aobo Intelligent stated that it would focus on the collaborative robot field while entering the humanoid robot sector. At the end of the same year, Humanoid Robotics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. was officially established, with shareholders including$SH ELECTRIC (02727.HK)$Holding Group, Shanghai Zhangjiang Group, Aobo Intelligent, and Iron Man Technology. In 2024, during the World AI Conference, the company launched China's first full-size open-source universal humanoid robot "Qinglong."

In April 2024, after completing a new round of financing, Rockstone Robotics stated that it has achieved full-stack technical capabilities in humanoid robots, including robot motion planning, dynamic control, integrated joints and core components, as well as intelligent vision + tactile technology. Additionally, Rockstone will deepen cooperation with more leading AI research institutions and enterprises to accelerate the industrialization of humanoid robots.

Among these, many new rising stars are in the IPO filing stage. In 2023, JAKA Robotics filed for the Star board and updated its listing application review status on the Shanghai Stock Exchange on January 15 this year. Additionally, media reports indicate that Aobo Intelligent has also initiated its listing plan, with Huatai United Securities as the counseling institution.

Both of these companies were established around 2015, coinciding with the launch of the collaborative robot concept, and have been favored by capital.

JAKA shares underwent six rounds of financing before the IPO, with a post-investment valuation of approximately 3.5 billion yuan. The investment lineup includes institutions such as Temasek, SoftBank, GGV Capital, and CITIC Industry Fund, with the last financing being a significant D round in 2022, raising nearly 1 billion.

Aobo Intelligent has also completed seven rounds of financing, with more than ten institutions behind it, including Fosun, National Development Investment Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund, Ding Sheng He Chuang, and Orient. The last round of financing was also a D round, culminating in June 2023.

According to incomplete statistics from High-tech Robotics, currently, over 10 collaborative robot manufacturers have entered the humanoid robot sector. Mature collaborative robot companies have advanced technologies in joint components and controllers, and the market-validated collaborative robotic arms are more likely to promote the application landing and market development of humanoid robots.

However, some industry insiders have indicated that the industry still faces many challenges. For humanoid robots that utilize 'agile operation + straight knee walking', their development needs to overcome multiple difficulties such as biomechanical mimicry, high precision control, computational power bottlenecks, and cost limitations. Although companies like Yujiang have achieved some phased results, the industry remains in a period of technical breakthroughs, with future competition focusing on system integration efficiency and the speed of commercialization.

Editor/Rocky