Humanoid Robot Maker EngineAI Files for a Hong Kong IPO as China’s Robot Listing Wave Hits $22.6B

EngineAI, a Shenzhen startup that builds general-purpose humanoid robots, has filed confidentially for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg report. The company is working with China International Capital Corp and Citic Securities on the potential share sale, though the size and timing have not been set and the plan could still change.

The filing follows a $200 million Series B in April that valued the company at $1.5 billion — more than 10 billion yuan — a striking mark for a firm founded only in 2023. The round was led by a Henan Investment Group fund and Luxshare Precision Industry, the Apple supplier whose backing signals how closely China’s consumer-electronics supply chain is now tying itself to embodied AI.

EngineAI is betting on manufacturing scale. On June 1 it opened a 12,000-square-metre factory in Shenzhen and began shipping its first T800 robots, a line it says can turn out one humanoid every 15 minutes and is geared for 10,000 units. That is a steep ramp from a single test machine in 2024 and a few hundred of its viral PM01 units — one of which drew attention for performing a front flip — in 2025. Led by chief executive Zhao Tongyang, the company is targeting traffic management, security patrols, retail service, and industrial work.

EngineAI is far from alone. Sector leader Unitree has filed for a roughly $7 billion IPO, BYD-backed PaXini and vacuum maker Dreame are in the mix, and Linkerbot is targeting about $6 billion — part of a Hong Kong listing wave that has reached $22.6 billion this year. China shipped an estimated 90% of the world’s humanoid robots last year, and more than 150 companies are now competing in the category.

The rush to public markets comes despite unsettled demand. By one measure, only 23% of buyers say they are satisfied with the humanoid robots currently on offer, underscoring how much of the sector’s valuation rests on future capability rather than today’s deployments. For investors, the EngineAI filing is a test of whether public-market appetite can keep pace with a manufacturing buildout that is, for now, running well ahead of proven use cases.