Over the past month, the spectacular listings of Moore Threads and MetaX on the STAR Market remain vivid in memory. Now, the next wave of super IPOs is emerging—the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) website shows that LandSpace's IPO tutoring status has been updated to "tutoring acceptance," with the company planning to apply for a listing on the STAR Market, guided by China International Capital Corporation (CICC). This marks the beginning of the listing journey for China's commercial aerospace sector. "The listing红利 is about to shift to commercial aerospace."
Across the ocean, Elon Musk's SpaceX, with a valuation of $1.5 trillion, is poised to create the largest IPO in human history. Back in China, domestically developed GPUs, bearing national strategic significance, have already given rise to two trillion-yuan IPOs—Moore Threads and MetaX. Now, a similar scenario is expected to unfold in the commercial aerospace sector. This may represent a precious yet brief window for listings.
Who will be the 'Moore Threads' of commercial aerospace? Previously, to compete for the title of the first domestic GPU IPO, various companies exerted immense effort, with Moore Threads ultimately taking the lead. Now, the race is on for the first commercial aerospace IPO—LandSpace's IPO tutoring status has changed to辅导验收, with the company intending to list on the STAR Market, guided by CICC. Thus, a new IPO competition has commenced.
Looking back to 2015, considered the first year of China's commercial aerospace era, Zhang Changwu敏锐察觉ed the market opportunity: global low-orbit satellite constellation plans faced a shortage of thousands of launches, while launch vehicles were severely insufficient. So, in June of that year, he founded LandSpace in Beijing's Yizhuang area, bringing in aerospace veterans Wang Jianmeng and Wu Shufan as technical partners. Almost every entrepreneur aspired to create a Chinese version of SpaceX.
It is well-known that SpaceX leads in the research, development, and practice of rocket recovery technology. Among domestic private rocket companies, LandSpace has completed two vertical takeoff and landing recovery tests and achieved the world's first successful orbit insertion of a liquid oxygen-methane rocket. Musk has also taken notice of this Chinese competitor. Recently, he posted on social media that Chinese company LandSpace incorporated design elements similar to Starship on its Zhuque-3 rocket, and these improvements could help it surpass the Falcon 9 rocket. "If all goes well, (Zhuque-3) might surpass 'Falcon' within 5 years."
Consequently, LandSpace has been highly sought after by the venture capital circle. Qichacha data shows the company has completed over ten financing rounds to date, raising more than 800 million yuan in just the first three years alone. The most notable round occurred in 2020 when LandSpace secured 1.2 billion yuan in Series C+ funding—backed by investors including Sequoia Capital China, Country Garden Venture Capital, Matrix Partners China, Cornerstone Capital, National SME Development Fund, Huzhou Saiyuan Government Fund, Gopher Asset Management, Yanfu Investment, Yunqi Capital, Lakeside International, Sunac Investment, Luxin Venture Capital, Yisheng Investment, and JuZhuo Capital.
In December last year, the National Manufacturing Transformation and Upgrading Fund invested 900 million yuan in LandSpace, becoming the single largest investor in the company's financing history. Earlier this month, the Zhuque-3 Yao-1 carrier rocket launched successfully from the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Test Zone and achieved orbit insertion, but the recovery attempt failed. In response, the LandSpace development team stated they would conduct a comprehensive review and technical resolution process as soon as possible to fully identify the cause of the failure. In reality, Falcon 9 also endured a long trial-and-error path before achieving reusable recovery. Confronting "setbacks" is a necessary学费 for every commercial aerospace player. The main event now turns to the IPO. From initiating listing辅导 to completion, LandSpace took only about five months, faster even than Moore Threads, positioning it to potentially become the "first commercial aerospace stock" on the STAR Market.
Behind LandSpace, competitors are also pushing hard. This story begins in June of this year when the CSRC officially included artificial intelligence, commercial aerospace, and the low-altitude economy within the scope of the fifth set of listing criteria for the STAR Market, allowing companies that are not yet profitable but possess core technologies to list and raise funds. The IPO window opened. In the short span of just three months thereafter, multiple commercial aerospace companies launched their listing sprints—LandSpace, Zhongke Aerospace, Space Tianbing, Galactic Energy... the queue is growing longer.
We observed that at the end of July, LandSpace officially commenced its辅导备案 with the Beijing Securities Regulatory Bureau. Shortly after, Zhongke Aerospace entered the race. Founded in 2018 in Guangzhou and incubated by the Institute of Mechanics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhongke Aerospace is led by Yang Yiqiang, the former chief commander of the Long March 11 carrier rocket. In August, Zhongke Aerospace initiated its上市辅导备案, guided by Guotai Junan Securities. Two months later, Space Tianbing joined the fray, with China Securities Co., Ltd. serving as its辅导机构. Its key figure, Kang Yonglai, has nearly 20 years of experience in launch vehicle technology R&D and project management. The most recent development involves Galactic Energy, led by PhD Liu Baiqi from Beihang University, formally starting its上市辅导, guided by Huatai United Securities. Notably, as early as the end of 2020, i-Space had already initiated its上市辅导备案, also targeting the STAR Market. Thus, a commercial aerospace IPO军团 has officially assembled.
Over the past few years, successive rounds of financing in commercial aerospace have left a deep impression on the venture capital community. For instance, in October this year, Space Tianbing announced the completion of nearly 2.5 billion yuan in Pre-D and D round financing—jointly completed by several prominent institutions including Guoyu Gaohua, Jigang Group, Orient Asset Management, Shenwan Investment, Bank of China Asset Management, Guiyang Industrial Development Fund, Beijing United Capital, Hunan Shengli Investment, Hunan Gaoxin Zongheng, and Qingshui Huixing. Currently, Space Tianbing's valuation exceeds 20 billion yuan. Slightly earlier, Galactic Energy completed a 2.4 billion yuan Series D round—with investment from over ten shareholders including the Beijing Commercial Aerospace and Low-Altitude Economy Industry Investment Fund, Nanjing Innovation Investment Group and various investment platforms in Nanjing's Luhe District, the Sichuan Manufacturing Collaboration Fund, and the Sichuan Regional Collaboration Fund. Around the same time, i-Space also secured the first tranche of 700 million yuan in its D+ round—led by Chengdu Major Industrialization Project Phase II Equity Investment Fund Co., Ltd., a fund under Chengdu Advanced Capital, with follow-on investments from funds under Chengdu Shuangliu Innovation Venture Investment Co., Ltd. and Chengdu Yingyuan Private Fund Management Co., Ltd.
Eagerly awaiting these listings are also the long queues of investors behind these companies. Broadening the scope to the entire commercial aerospace field, companies like Yixin Aerospace, Weina Xingkong, Aisida Aerospace, and Guoxing宇航, involved in commercial satellites and aerospace composite materials, are all冲击ing the capital markets this year. No one is willing to fall behind.
The era of major spaceflight is dawning, potentially birthing China's next batch of trillion-yuan companies. Commercial aerospace is experiencing a visibly explosive growth phase. The secondary market has率先 given its feedback. Over the past month, the commercial aerospace concept index has risen nearly 20%, with component stocks like Tianli Composite, Zaisheng Technology, Western Metal Materials, Aerospace Power, and Shunho股份 surging over 100%. Today, commercial aerospace stocks saw another wave of limit-up rallies, with over ten stocks hitting the daily上限. Recall that at the end of November, the China National Space Administration released the "Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality and Safe Development of Commercial Aerospace (2025-2027)," which outlined 22 key measures across five aspects, including "improving the investment and financing system and mechanism for commercial aerospace development and establishing a national commercial aerospace development fund." Simultaneously, a new department—the Commercial Aerospace Department—was established.
For a long time, "reaching for the moon" has been a romantic ideal ingrained in the Chinese psyche, underpinning this trillion-yuan track. But today, commercial aerospace is no longer just about beautiful dreams of the stars and seas; it has become a competition concerning national destiny and humanity's future. As Mi Lei, founding partner of CAS Star, put it, the Chinese people, who missed the "Age of Discovery," must not miss the coming "Era of Major Spaceflight." However, the commercial aerospace sector still faces common challenges like high R&D投入 and persistently high launch and operational costs. Achieving the goal of space travel will inevitably require massive capital investment for technological R&D and testing.
Just as Musk has long opposed a SpaceX IPO but has now changed his stance. According to Bloomberg, SpaceX plans to raise over $30 billion through an IPO, targeting a valuation of $1.5 trillion, poised to create the largest IPO in human history. In fact, the capital-intensive nature of commercial aerospace is evident to all, making listings even more urgent. Wang Xinhe, founding partner of Yuanhang Capital, once analyzed that domestic commercial aerospace companies currently face issues with sustained financing and implementation. "Capital investing in commercial aerospace currently mainly comes from local government venture funds or industrial funds. Company落地 has become a rigid condition for obtaining financing, which imposes restrictions and impacts on the company's future industrial layout and subsequent financing needs." Having passed the relay race of the primary market, leading companies are destined to be tested in the capital markets. This might be another super feast.
Currently, the total valuation of domestic commercial aerospace companies冲刺ing IPOs is only at the hundred-billion-yuan level, roughly 1% of SpaceX's valuation. "The potential premium in the A-share market thereafter is beyond imagination." Just like Moore Threads and MetaX, whose primary market valuations were mostly around 20-30 billion yuan, saw their market caps突破 300 billion on their first trading day, stunning the venture capital circle. Most investors firmly believe that the next batch of trillion-yuan companies will emerge from this sector.
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