LimX Dynamics, founded during the pandemic, has raised $200 million in a pre-IPO funding round, valuing the company at 15 billion yuan ($2.21 billion). Founder Will Zhang emphasized the necessity of going public, drawing parallels to successful Chinese electric vehicle companies that listed in the U.S. between 2018 and 2020.
The urgency for LimX to list stems from the competitive landscape, as over 100 humanoid companies are emerging in China, driven by a national initiative for 'embodied AI.' Investment in this sector surged to 47.09 billion yuan ($6.95 billion) in the second quarter, more than double the previous quarter and significantly higher than the same period last year.
LimX plans to ship thousands of humanoid robots to the Middle East and is already delivering its Luna humanoid to South Korea. The company aims to create fully autonomous commercial service robots, with Zhang noting that the technology has matured significantly. Other notable investors in this funding round include Lens Technology and IDG Capital.
As the market for industrial robots in China is expected to grow by 18% this year, LimX's IPO could position it favorably amidst increasing competition from other companies like Unitree, which has also received fast-tracked approval to list in Shanghai