Sept 21 (Reuters) - Chinese regulators are putting the brakes on a rush of humanoid-robot companies seeking listings, people familiar with the matter said, as they scrutinise whether soaring valuations and revenue tied to state-backed projects reflect commercial demand.
The slowdown was mainly triggered by a volatile start for shares in Unitree Robotics, a maker of humanoid and quadruped robots, they said. The stock soared more than fivefold in its Shanghai debut a month ago and has slumped 55% from
its peak.
Regulators have used informal "window guidance" to hold back some humanoid-robot listings, said the people, who requested anonymity while discussing the matter due to the sensitivity of the topic.
One of them said humanoid IPOs had effectively been frozen for now, while another said there was no formal ban, describing the move as a sector-specific slowdown.
The regulatory move highlights Beijing's effort to cool investor euphoria over one of China's hottest investment themes without undermining a technology the government has made a national priority.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission did not respond to a request for comment.
The Information first reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter, that the CSRC recently gave informal guidance to some investment banks and investment firms that it was raising the bar for granting approval of humanoid IPOs.
Leo Wang, a venture capitalist at Qianchuang Capital, described the investment wave in the robotics sector as "campaign-style innovation", using a Chinese phrase for booms in which companies and capital rush into a policy-favoured sector.
Beijing has promoted "embodied intelligence" — AI systems capable of perceiving and acting in the physical world — as a strategic emerging industry, helping fuel investment from private capital and local governments.
Wang said hype around embodied AI had exceeded that seen during China's internet and new-energy investment waves, with industrial-robot makers pivoting towards humanoids and startups commanding rapidly rising valuations.
Some founders were attracting dozens of prospective investors within weeks and refusing conventional due diligence, he said. Some private-market projects had already suffered valuation cuts of 30% to 50%.
Unitree did not respond to a request for comment.
At least half a dozen Chinese humanoid robotics firms are preparing to go public, including Deep Robotics, X Square Robot and AGIBOT. The three companies did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on whether regulators have slowed their plans.
REVENUE STREAMS UNDER SCRUTINY
Regulators are particularly focusing on whether revenue generated by the robotics companies through local-government-backed projects can be sustained, according to one person close to humanoid-robot investors.
The person said robot data-collection centres, where robots are trained, and joint ventures, in which local governments could provide 80% to 90% of initial investment, had generated significant revenue for some companies.
Such projects can provide orders that support private-market valuations and help companies meet listing thresholds, but regulators are questioning whether they represent demand from independent customers.
The person estimated that valuations at some robot companies could fall 60% to 70% if revenue associated with data-collection centres were stripped away.
Questions over revenue quality are accompanied by uncertainty about what customers are actually buying.
Mech-Mind Robotics CEO Shao Tianlan alleged in a WeChat post this month some highly valued embodied-AI firms were generating revenue through data collection centres, related-party deals and other unsustainable arrangements as they raced towards IPOs.
Shao declined to comment beyond his post.
Shares in Mech-Mind have fallen nearly 20% from their debut-day high on September 1.
'BLANKET EUPHORIA TO SELECTIVE RATIONALITY'
The tighter regulatory stance does not signal Beijing's retreat from humanoid robotics, executives and investors said. It reflects a growing emphasis on deployment, order volumes, and evidence that companies can turn technical demonstrations into commercially viable products, they said.
Ruiying Zhao, a senior research analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said investor sentiment was shifting from "blanket euphoria to selective rationality", with greater scrutiny of whether realised commercial value justified premiums.
The caution comes as fundraising by mainland Chinese companies rebounds. They have raised $148.9 billion through share sales and convertible offerings so far in 2026, up 59% from the same period a year earlier, according to LSEG data. Technology companies raised 41% of the total.
A senior banker involved in Asian equity offerings said investors were still willing to finance robotics companies, but were becoming more demanding about deployment, volumes and valuation.
"What's the use case? Is it just people's robots dancing around? Is it working in factories?" the banker said. "The volume hasn't really caught up with the hype."
(Reporting by Reuters Staff; Writing by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Sonali Paul)
