As DOBOT (HKG: 02432) approaches a critical hearing for its planned ChiNext IPO, a dramatic turn of events has emerged. The company, poised to be the first from the Greater Bay Area to pursue an "H-share to A-share" listing, saw a swift 86-day journey from application acceptance to the upcoming hearing, which initially suggested a smooth capital market debut.
However, the narrative shifted dramatically with the publication of a real-name complaint letter in the early hours of July 17.
What Transpired?
At 1:23 AM on July 17, an article was published on the WeChat public account "Song Tao Robotics." The author, identifying himself as Song Tao—the self-proclaimed "Co-Founder No. 2" and former Executive Vice President and COO of DOBOT—filed a real-name complaint. He accused the company and its founder, Liu Peichao, of making "false statements throughout" and "deliberately concealing a dispute involving over 100 million yuan in share ownership" in the A-share prospectus.
What is the Core Dispute?
The central issue revolves around the allocation of shares in the employee持股平台, DOBOT Partnership. With the company's上市 imminent, a disagreement over the distribution of interests has surfaced.
According to the prospectus, DOBOT Partnership holds approximately 12.6 million shares, representing a 2.86% stake in the company. Within the partnership, Liu Peichao contributed 53.067%, while Song Tao contributed 22.455%.
Song Tao claims that on January 28, 2023, DOBOT Partnership issued an officially stamped股权变更规划文件 (Equity Change Plan Document). This document allegedly stated that upon completion of the changes, he should hold 69.7373% of the partnership's property份额. The 47.2823% difference, in his view, has "vanished into thin air."
In response, DOBOT stated on July 17 that the complaint is "untrue and seriously misleading," affirming that its production, operations, and上市 preparations are proceeding as planned.
The market reaction was telling. On July 17, DOBOT's Hong Kong shares opened sharply lower and closed down 12.84%, wiping out approximately 1.5 billion yuan in market capitalization.
The timing is indeed delicate, with just four days remaining before the crucial A-share listing hearing.
Assessing the Scale of the Dispute
Objectively, equity disputes are not uncommon among pre-IPO companies, but several细节 in this case warrant attention.
The prospectus does disclose relevant facts: after Song Tao left the company in March 2021, he did not return the 22.46% property份额 as agreed. The company filed a lawsuit in November 2023, and in December 2025, the Guangdong High Court ruled that the dispute did not fall within the scope of the people's courts' jurisdiction. Based on this, the prospectus states that "there are no pending lawsuits or arbitrations between the company, its实际控制人, and Song Tao."
Song Tao's accusation is that the court merely ruled it lacked jurisdiction and never adjudicated the ownership of the shares, alleging the company "deliberately截取 court document excerpts to mislead the market."
From a legal perspective, the nature of this dispute requires clarification.
First, DOBOT Partnership is a有限合伙企业. Liu Peichao, as the执行事务合伙人, holds significant discretion over the allocation of partnership interests. The 69.7373%份额 claimed by Song Tao appears in a "Change Plan Document," but the legal效力 of this document—whether it is a formal agreement or a意向方案—is the core争议点.
Second, the Guangdong High Court's ruling of "not within the jurisdiction of the people's courts" suggests the dispute may involve internal governance issues of the partnership, potentially更适合 for resolution through arbitration or negotiation.
Third, regardless of the final outcome, DOBOT Partnership holds only a 2.86% stake in the listed company. Even if Song Tao's claims were fully upheld, the实质影响 on the listed company's control and operational决策 would be limited.
This is not an event of "company fraud" but rather an利益博弈 between a former partner and the founder. For investors, the focus should be on the completeness and transparency of information disclosure, rather than concerns over the company's fundamental business health.
Analyzing various factors, the current personal assessment is that the complaint is unlikely to lead to IPO failure but may cause short-term审核延期 or additional inquiries.
Examining the Fundamentals Beyond the Dispute
Amidst the noise of the complaint, DOBOT's actual operating condition deserves scrutiny.
Collaborative Robots: The company possesses solid capabilities. In 2025, DOBOT's collaborative robot shipments跃居全球第一,累计突破 100,000 units. Full-year revenue reached 492 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.7%. Revenue from core six-axis robots exceeded 300 million yuan, up 44.7%.
The company serves over 80 Fortune Global 500 companies, including BYD, Mercedes-Benz, CATL, and Samsung, with products covering 15 major industries and over 200细分场景. It has been the leading exporter of国产 industrial robots for eight consecutive years.
This is not a company built on概念炒作 but an industry leader with real products, real customers, and real shipments.
Embodied AI: A Second Growth Curve has taken shape. After entering the embodied AI赛道 in 2024, revenue in this segment grew 418.84% year-on-year in 2025. Shipment value in the first half of 2026突破 40 million yuan, already double the full-year 2025 revenue for this segment.
As of June 2026, the embodied AI segment had累计合作客户 231家, with nearly 100 industrial manufacturing clients in the pipeline, including leading manufacturers like Valeo and Leapmotor.
The company has built a full-form product matrix of "humanoid robots +多足机器人 + dual-arm robots" and is among the first domestic companies to enter the mass production phase for humanoid robots.
Substantial R&D Investment: From 2023 to 2025, cumulative R&D investment reached 257 million yuan, accounting for over 20% of revenue. R&D investment in 2025 was 115 million yuan, a near 60% increase year-on-year, of which 45.1 million yuan was allocated to embodied AI R&D.
As of the end of 2025, the company held 625 granted domestic patents, with R&D personnel comprising 31.38% of its workforce.
A Quick Look at Financial Data
Data Source: DOBOT Prospectus and 2025 Annual Report.
Five consecutive years of losses,累计 376 million yuan, may not look appealing. However,仔细观察 reveals the losses are narrowing: from 103 million yuan in 2023 to 84 million yuan in 2025.
More importantly is the structure of the losses. According to company disclosures, the 2025 Non-GAAP loss was approximately 49 million yuan, of which nearly 40 million yuan was专项研发投入 in the embodied AI赛道. Excluding this strategic expenditure, the core collaborative robot business is接近盈亏平衡.
The company expects to achieve profitability by 2028. This is not an空话, as the collaborative robot business already has a盈利基础, while the embodied AI segment is in a strategic investment phase.
In-Depth Commentary
The timing of this complaint is remarkably "coincidental."
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange disclosed on July 15 that DOBOT's ChiNext IPO hearing was scheduled for July 22. Just two days later, in the early hours of July 17, Song Tao's complaint文章 was published.
With only 86 days from acceptance to hearing,作为大湾区首单 "H回A" case, DOBOT is at its most prominent moment in the capital markets, also a window of peak valuation expectations. Song Tao's choice of timing is意图明显: to bring the股权争议 into the public arena using舆论压力 before the A-share上市 is finalized.
But the core issue has never been "whether there is a dispute" but rather "how significant is the dispute."
DOBOT Partnership holds only a 2.86% stake in the company. Even if Song Tao's claimed 69.7373%份额 were fully recognized, it would affect only about 1.35% of the company's total shares. This scale would not动摇 control权, nor change the company's operational底色. DOBOT achieved全球第一 in collaborative robot shipments in 2025, with projected revenue growth of 94.7% to 114.1% year-on-year for the first half of 2026. Customers have not left, orders have not been canceled, and production lines have not halted.
The company responded promptly: the accusations are untrue and seriously misleading, and上市 preparations are proceeding as planned. The fact that regulators have not suspended the hearing is a more significant signal than any辩解.
The 12.84% single-day drop in DOBOT's Hong Kong shares on July 17 is viewed as an emotional宣泄, not a fundamental价值重估. What is truly worth pondering is this: if a dispute involving 1.35% of the company's shares can trigger such market恐慌, then how much of the previous 12.5% share price increase was driven by套利预期 for the "H回A" move versus genuine recognition of the company's industrial value?
The complaint serves as a mirror, reflecting not a blemish on the company but the fragility of market sentiment.
DOBOT's fundamentals remain unchanged; what has changed is market psychology. On the day of the hearing, the outcome will not be determined by Song Tao's article but by the professional judgment of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange based on工商登记, legal facts, and the quality of the company.
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