A significant growth phase is on the horizon for China's STAR Market, driven by a pipeline of promising robotics companies gearing up for their initial public offerings. Key players such as Unitree, Zhiyuan Robot, Jaka Robotics, Fine Motion Tech, and Sichuan Tianlian Robot are all preparing to list.
The market already reflects this momentum. Our Premia STAR50 ETF has delivered an impressive 77.6% gain in NAV over the past year (in USD terms as of August 22) and an 20.9% rise since the beginning of August. This strong performance is expected to continue, driven by several catalysts, including robust inflows from both domestic and foreign investors and a backdrop of growth-driven momentum ahead of the 15th Five-Year Plan's release, which is expected to prioritize "AI Plus" initiatives such as robotics, chips and embodied AI.
Unitree's Public Debut
Unitree, a pioneer in the retail market for high-performance quadruped robots and an early leader in commercial applications, has officially filed tutoring documents with China's STAR Market regulators in July. This is a key step toward becoming potentially the first pure-play robotics company to go public in China. The company recently unveiled its R1 humanoid robot, priced below the crucial US$6,000 psychological barrier, with over 26 degrees of freedom (DOF) and superior flexibility and precision. The R1's high performance paired with an accessible price point is expected to catalyze a new wave of versatile AI robot applications for both workplaces and households’ scenarios.
The company has also made a name for itself in global events, with its H1, G1, and A2 robots recently showcasing their capabilities in combat, boxing, and track and field at the 2025 World Humanoid Robot Games (WHRG) in Beijing, winning an impressive haul of 11 medals—including 4 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze.
Zhiyuan Robot's Strategic Move
Expected to ship tens of thousands of units next year, Zhiyuan Robot is positioning itself as a leader in the humanoid robotics sector. The company recently announced it would acquire a controlling stake in Swancor (688585.CH), a STAR Market-listed company, through a combination of "agreement transfer and tender offer." This makes Zhiyuan Robot the first company to go public on the STAR Market via a reverse merger.
Just before the acquisition announcement, the company launched its new “Nezha” (哪吒) humanoid robot series, the Lingxi (灵犀) X2-N, which can seamlessly switch between wheeled and bipedal modes. Earlier this year, Zhiyuan successfully mass-produced 1,000 general-purpose embodied robots and, in March, released its foundational embodied Large Language Model (GO-1). This model allows its robots to learn and generalize tasks quickly from small data sets by observing human videos. Moreover, the company is backed by a powerhouse roster of strategic investors, including CP Group, LG Electronics, Mirae Asset, Tencent, JD.com and BYD.
Jaka and Fine Motion's Industrial Applications
Jaka Robotics, a top player in China's collaborative robot market, has also submitted its IPO application to the STAR Market and is currently in the review phase. Its JAKA Lumi robot, which debuted at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), demonstrated impressive coordination by identifying, distinguishing, and handing different types of toys to attendees while even performing a dance. The company has already achieved small-scale commercial deployment of over 300 units in 2024 for applications like research, training and smart manufacturing. Jaka is also conducting scenario testing with automotive, semiconductor and electronics companies to explore real-world applications for its humanoid robots.
Fine Motion Technology, a company specializing in high-precision reducers for robot joints, has also filed its prospectus with the STAR Market. The company has developed a portfolio of over 40 types of reducers for industrial robots and many high-end manufacturing applications. It is a key supplier to several well-known domestic and international robot manufacturers and has seen its market share in China's RV reducer market for robots grow significantly, from 5.25% in 2020 to 18.89% in 2023, making it a key beneficiary and driver of domestic substitution.
Sichuan Tianlian Robot's Full-Stack Approach
Sichuan Tianlian Robot, which focuses on the research and production of core robot components for humanoid, collaborative and industrial robots, has also filed for an IPO on the STAR Market and entered the tutoring and filing phase. The company has built a full-stack solution by leveraging its proprietary "brain" (control system) and "nerves" (underlying algorithms), breaking down barriers from core components to full-machine integration. The company's "Tina" humanoid robot, developed in partnership with ZTE, made its debut at the 2025 Mobile World Congress, where it was able to engage visitors in conversation, proactively invite them for photos, and even offer gifts. More recently, its fully self-developed T1pro humanoid robot, which has 71 DOF and has been applied in military and research education settings, together with various components were showcased at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference.
