In recent years, robotics companies have been knocking on the door of the capital market at an unprecedented pace. Leading the underwater robotics track, Shenzhilan Ocean Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Shenzhilan”) is also queuing for listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Recently, Shenzhilan’s IPO status has been updated to “under inquiry.” This move highlights the rapid growth and ambition of the China robot sector, particularly in specialized fields like marine technology.
According to the prospectus, Shenzhilan was founded in 2013 and is primarily engaged in the research and development, production, sales, and service of underwater robot products. Its main products include remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), underwater gliders, automatic profiling floats, and underwater propulsion vehicles. In the industry, Shenzhilan is often called the “underwater DJI,” drawing parallels to the successful drone manufacturer, and stands as a prominent example of innovation in the China robot industry.
The company has established product lines for military, commercial, and personal consumer use. In 2017, Shenzhilan formally entered the marine culture and tourism field, launching underwater propulsion vehicles that cover the full spectrum of needs from entry-level to professional-grade. These products are suitable for lightweight scenarios such as pool entertainment, snorkeling, and family water activities, as well as more demanding application scenarios like diving exploration, water sports, and rescue training. This diversification showcases the expanding applications of China robot technology beyond traditional industrial uses.
Over the past three years, Shenzhilan’s revenue compound annual growth rate reached 33.23%. The industrial-grade product line serves as the “ballast” for the company’s performance, contributing the majority of revenue. However, Shenzhilan is not yet profitable. As of the end of June 2025, the amount of undistributed profit was approximately -620 million yuan. This financial profile is common for high-growth tech firms in the China robot ecosystem, where significant upfront investment is required before reaching sustainable profitability.
For this IPO, Shenzhilan plans to raise 1.5 billion yuan. Based on its total assets of approximately 715 million yuan, this fundraising is equivalent to creating “two Shenzhilans.” Estimating from the issuance of no less than 10% of the total shares outstanding after the offering, Shenzhilan’s overall valuation is about 15 billion yuan. This ambitious valuation reflects investor confidence in the future of the China robot market, especially in niche areas with high technological barriers.
Shenzhilan stated in an interview on January 28th that the company is currently in a critical stage of transition from technology research and development and market expansion to scaled and globalized development. Through listing and financing, it can effectively support the construction of R&D centers, capacity expansion, optimization of financial structure, provide capital guarantee for long-term development strategies, and enhance comprehensive competitiveness. “During the reporting period, the company’s main cost pressures came from sustained high R&D investment and various expense expenditures required to support rapid development. In the future, the company will improve gross margin and enhance overall profitability by optimizing the product structure (increasing the proportion of high-margin products), strengthening cost control and supply chain management, promoting technological upgrading to increase product added value, leveraging economies of scale to amortize fixed costs, and enhancing refined management and expense control.”
The following table summarizes key financial metrics for Shenzhilan over the reporting periods, illustrating the trajectory of this China robot company:
| Period | Revenue (million yuan) | Net Profit (million yuan) | Gross Margin of Main Business (%) | R&D Expenses (million yuan) | Sales Expenses (million yuan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 141 | -134 | 35.97 | 62.2946 | 62.4206 |
| 2023 | 235 | -92.6014 | 41.97 | 59.1374 | 74.3039 |
| 2024 | 251 | -65.7826 | 38.34 | 50.534 | 71.4167 |
| H1 2025 | 141 | -2.0781 | 43.96 | 20.3987 | 42.673 |
This data underscores the growth and challenges faced by Shenzhilan as it navigates the competitive landscape of the China robot industry.
1. Fundraising for Capacity Expansion in the China Robot Sector
In the field of “deep-sea technology,” underwater robot manufacturer Shenzhilan has “swum” to the door of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The STAR Market website shows that on December 26, 2025, Shenzhilan’s IPO application was accepted, and it recently entered the inquiry stage. The prospectus indicates that Shenzhilan is a domestic underwater robot product and solution provider, with business covering marine security, marine engineering, emergency rescue, water conservancy and hydropower, marine scientific research, and marine culture and tourism. Its main customers include national defense units, China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited, China South-to-North Water Diversion Middle Route Co., Ltd., Amazon, and others.
According to the prospectus, the underwater robot industry overall presents a development trend of “international leadership, domestic catch-up, accelerated breakthroughs in high-end, diversified competition in the mid-range, and continuous release of market potential.” Shenzhilan’s main product performance indicators have benchmarked and partially surpassed international benchmark products, holding a leading position in domestic observation and light work-class ROVs, autonomous underwater robots, and other fields. This positioning is crucial for the advancement of the China robot industry on the global stage.
Shenzhilan primarily relies on independent production and adopts an order-oriented model. The company’s ROV and AUV products mainly use a direct sales model, while some underwater propulsion vehicle products are sold via e-commerce models, primarily relying on online e-commerce platforms. This hybrid sales approach is common among consumer-focused China robot companies seeking broad market reach.
As revenue scale grows, Shenzhilan’s accounts receivable have climbed year by year. At the end of each reporting period, they were 44.89 million yuan, 72.4987 million yuan, 113 million yuan, and 119 million yuan, accounting for 8.65%, 15.72%, 17.4%, and 19.04% of current assets, respectively. Simultaneously, the company has a large inventory scale, posing impairment risks. The book value of inventory at the end of each reporting period was approximately 218 million yuan, 157 million yuan, 150 million yuan, and 166 million yuan, accounting for 42.02%, 34.05%, 22.98%, and 26.53% of current assets, respectively. The company’s inventory is mainly raw materials. Managing working capital efficiently is a key challenge for growth-stage companies in the China robot field.
For this IPO, Shenzhilan plans to raise 865 million yuan for the underwater robot production base expansion project, accounting for about half of the total raised funds. The prospectus shows that this project, by introducing advanced research and development and production equipment, will focus on product R&D and technological upgrades for work-class ROVs, large-depth AUVs, and intelligent underwater propulsion vehicles, and will complement and improve related product testing facilities, significantly enhancing the company’s production capacity for underwater robot products. This expansion is a strategic move to capture more market share in the burgeoning China robot industry.
Shenzhilan stated that the company’s capacity expansion plan is based on an assessment of future growth trends in the underwater robot market. According to industry data, the global and Chinese underwater robot market sizes are expected to continue growing. “The application of the company’s products in fields such as marine security, marine engineering, emergency rescue, water conservancy and hydropower, and marine scientific research is continuously deepening, with clear downstream market demand.” The growth of the China robot market is driven by both industrial modernization and increasing consumer adoption.
2. Market Still in Growth Phase for China Robot Companies
While business is growing rapidly, Shenzhilan has not yet escaped losses. The prospectus shows that from 2022 to 2024 and the first half of 2025, Shenzhilan’s net profits were approximately -134 million yuan, -92.6014 million yuan, -65.7826 million yuan, and -2.0781 million yuan, respectively. During the reporting period, the company’s main business gross margin fluctuated somewhat. The gross margin for ROVs was 18.38%, 38.07%, 43.48%, and 40.65%, respectively; for AUVs, it was 20.24%, 28.48%, 25.57%, and 35.4%, respectively. The gross margin for underwater propulsion vehicles remained relatively stable and at a high level overall. These variations reflect the different stages of product maturity and competitive dynamics within the China robot sector.
According to the prospectus, Shenzhilan has not yet achieved profitability mainly because the underwater robot market is still in a growth phase, with revenue scale gradually climbing. It takes time for the company’s revenue to reach a high level, and sales and management expenses account for a relatively high proportion, so economies of scale have not yet materialized. The company implemented multiple equity incentives, resulting in relatively high share-based payment expenses each period. The underwater robot industry has high technical barriers; to smoothly conduct business and comprehensively meet customer needs, the company maintains a high level of R&D investment. These factors are typical for innovative China robot companies prioritizing long-term technology leadership over short-term profits.
Shenzhilan pointed out in the prospectus that the market is still in a development stage, and large-scale popularization still requires time. From the supply side, the underwater robot industry has high entry barriers, imposing high requirements on core technology levels, system integration capabilities, R&D investment strength, supply chain autonomy, and industrial application experience, which to some extent inhibits the entry of potential market participants. From the demand side, specialized underwater robot products for professional users are high-priced, and the consumer underwater robot market still needs cultivation, with user awareness and usage habits yet to change. This duality presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the China robot industry to innovate and drive down costs.
In recent years, Shenzhilan’s sales expenses have been high. From 2022 to 2024 and the first half of 2025, they were approximately 62.4206 million yuan, 74.3039 million yuan, 71.4167 million yuan, and 42.673 million yuan, accounting for 44.22%, 31.59%, 28.5%, and 30.22% of同期 revenue, respectively. Shenzhilan stated that during the reporting period, the company’s sales expense ratio has shown a downward trend. In the future, as brand influence continues to increase, market application scenarios continuously expand, and economies of scale gradually materialize, the sales expense ratio is expected to continue optimizing. The company will continuously improve the efficiency and effectiveness of sales expenses by持续 optimizing sales channel layout and sales systems, deepening data-driven marketing analysis and customer insights, and strengthening budget management. Effective cost management is essential for any China robot company aiming for sustainable growth.
Regarding R&D expenses, Shenzhilan’s expenditure in this area has continued to decline in recent years. From 2022 to 2024 and the first half of 2025, R&D expenses were 62.2946 million yuan, 59.1374 million yuan, 50.534 million yuan, and 20.3987 million yuan, accounting for 44.13%, 25.15%, 20.17%, and 14.45% of同期 revenue, respectively. While the absolute amount has decreased, the company emphasizes that it remains committed to innovation in the China robot space.
During the reporting period, Shenzhilan terminated two R&D projects. Among them, Altivs was the project with the highest R&D expense投入 in 2022, reaching 5.0451 million yuan. Another terminated project, the pool cleaning robot, had R&D expenses投入 in 2023 reaching 6.4227 million yuan, also the highest that year. Additionally, the R&D project for low-power marine electric propulsion technology development is in a suspended state. Shenzhilan stated that the company dynamically evaluates and optimizes resource allocation for R&D projects based on market changes, technology development trends, and strategic focus principles. The termination of the pool cleaning robot project and the Altivs production line, as well as the suspension of the low-power marine electric propulsion technology development project, are all normal adjustments made after comprehensive judgments on factors such as market demand, technical feasibility, and investment return. “The company does not have a situation of wavering R&D direction; R&D activities have always been closely centered on the core business of ‘underwater robots,’ focusing on tackling and accumulating four major core technology systems: underwater robot system technology, underwater power and power supply technology, underwater robot control navigation and communication technology, and underwater robot advanced manufacturing technology.” This strategic focus is vital for maintaining a competitive edge in the China robot industry.
The journey of Shenzhilan reflects broader trends in the China robot sector. As the country pushes for technological self-reliance and innovation in high-end manufacturing, companies like Shenzhilan are at the forefront, developing sophisticated robotics for specialized environments. The underwater robotics segment, while niche, has significant strategic importance for national security, resource exploration, and scientific research, making it a priority area for development within the China robot ecosystem.
Moreover, the consumer side of underwater robotics represents a new frontier for the China robot industry. Products like underwater propulsion vehicles aim to democratize access to marine exploration, similar to how drones revolutionized aerial photography. If successful, Shenzhilan could help create a mass market for consumer underwater robots, further solidifying China’s position as a global leader in robotics innovation.
However, challenges remain. The high costs associated with R&D and customer acquisition, as seen in Shenzhilan’s financials, mean that profitability may be elusive in the short term. The company’s reliance on a few large clients in the industrial and defense sectors also poses concentration risks. Diversifying its customer base and achieving scale in the consumer segment will be critical for long-term success.
The IPO process itself is a milestone for Shenzhilan and the China robot industry. Access to public capital will provide the resources needed to accelerate growth, invest in next-generation technologies, and compete internationally. The valuation of around 15 billion yuan signals strong investor appetite for high-tech China robot companies with proven technology and market traction.
Looking ahead, the growth of the China robot market will depend on several factors: continued technological advancements that reduce costs and improve capabilities, supportive government policies that encourage innovation and adoption, and the ability of companies like Shenzhilan to navigate complex regulatory and market environments. The global underwater robotics market is projected to grow significantly in the coming decade, driven by applications in offshore oil and gas, defense, aquaculture, and environmental monitoring. As a leading player from China, Shenzhilan is well-positioned to capture a share of this global opportunity.
In conclusion, Shenzhilan’s冲刺 for a STAR Market listing is more than just a corporate event; it is a testament to the vitality and ambition of the China robot industry. By developing cutting-edge underwater robotics and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in marine technology, Shenzhilan embodies the spirit of innovation that is driving China’s technological rise. Whether it becomes the “first underwater robot stock” or faces hurdles along the way, its journey will be closely watched as a barometer for the broader China robot sector’s ability to translate technological prowess into commercial success and global leadership.