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Profitable Industrial-Robots Maker Junion Files For Hong Kong IPO

As enthusiasm for embodied intelligence builds, the IPO candidate represents a standout case of a robot maker that can back its hype with profitability

Image credit: Bamboo Works

Key Takeaways:

Junion Intelligent has filed for a Hong Kong IPO, backed by sustained profitability that includes a 70% year-on-year profit increase in the first nine months of last year

More than 90% of the company's revenue comes from intelligent embodied industrial robots, underscoring its strong focus on industrial applications

Waves of hype surrounding embodied intelligence and humanoid robots make for good headlines, even as the industry has yet to reach a true tipping point when companies can boast commercial viability. Beyond the catchy demo videos, staged robot performances and founders dishing out their grand visions, what investors really need are hard profits to determine whether these emerging technologies can support sustainable businesses.

One case study of what the future could hold comes from Suzhou Junion Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd., which this week wooed investors with a Hong Kong IPO application that included a rare instance of a profitable company.

Unlike many startups that position embodied intelligence as their starting point, Junion's path has followed a more pragmatic, demand-driven evolution shaped by industrial needs. Founded in 2017, the company did not begin with humanoid or embodied intelligence concepts. Instead, it entered the market with industrial logistics and mobile robots, building engineering expertise in perception, navigation and task scheduling within real factory environments.

A year after its founding the company launched its self-developed JOS robot operating system, integrating perception, motion control, and task planning within a unified architecture. Unlike fancier systems designed for eye-catching demonstrations, JOS was built to meet demands associated with highly uncertain, long-duration operations in industrial settings. As the platform matured, the ...