A whistleblower letter sent by an individual claiming to be a co-founder of robot maker DOBOT has sent the company's shares tumbling over 12% in Hong Kong trading, just as the firm cleared a key regulatory hurdle for its A-share IPO. The letter, published on July 17 via a personal WeChat account, alleges that the company's prospectus contains major omissions regarding its equity structure, sparking concerns over the firm's disclosure practices.
The dispute centers on DOBOT's employee shareholding platform, which holds about 2.86% of the company. The whistleblower, Song Tao, claims that a 2023 document shows he should hold 69.74% of the platform's units, but the prospectus only records 22.46%, a gap worth hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars. The company has denied the claims, stating that Song's shares were part of a standard employee incentive plan and that he was required to return all equity upon leaving the firm in 2021. DOBOT has also filed a lawsuit seeking to transfer Song's stake to its founder for a nominal sum. While the listing committee has not postponed the IPO review, the market's doubts about the company's information disclosure compliance linger.
Where the core issue lies
The core of the dispute is whether Song Tao holds co-founder status or is a former employee. The company insists he joined in October 2017 and does not qualify as a co-founder, while Song counters that he began managing daily operations as early as 2015, making him a founding member. The company's July 22 clarification statement omitted his early contributions, according to Song, who accuses the firm of misleading the public. The IPO review committee focused on profit forecasts rather than the equity dispute, but the unresolved conflict leaves a cloud over the company's listing process.
Main product prices drop by a third in two years
Beyond the ownership battle, DOBOT faces persistent profitability challenges. The company is a leader in the collaborative robot sector, with a 13.2% global market share as of 2025, according to a consultancy report. Its six-axis collaborative robots, which account for over 60% of revenue, have seen their unit price fall from 56,600 yuan in 2023 to 38,200 yuan in 2025, a decline of over 30%. While total revenue grew from 287 million yuan to 493 million yuan over the same period, questions remain about whether this growth is driven by product strength or price cuts.
The company remains deep in the red, with net losses of approximately 103 million yuan, 95.36 million yuan, and 83.54 million yuan from 2023 to 2025, totaling about 280 million yuan. Operating cash flow has also been negative for three consecutive years, though it is gradually improving. In the first half of 2026, the company expects revenue to jump 95% to 114%, but core net losses could widen to between 140 million yuan and 170 million yuan, a 160% year-on-year increase. Sales expenses, which are about 1.5 times higher than R&D spending, have drawn scrutiny. The company's sales expense ratio, at around 35% to 43% of revenue, significantly exceeds industry averages. Management attributes this to global expansion efforts, but the strategy of spending more on sales while lowering prices raises questions about when the company will turn profitable. DOBOT has set a target of achieving profitability by 2028, with projected revenue of 1.723 billion yuan, but warns that a 5% shortfall in revenue or a 3% drop in gross margins could push the breakeven point to 2029.
Multiple fundraisings within two years of Hong Kong listing
For its A-share IPO, DOBOT plans to raise about 1.2 billion yuan, with 550 million yuan for multi-legged robot R&D, 250 million yuan for humanoid robot technology, 100 million yuan for marketing, and 300 million yuan for working capital. However, the company is not short on cash. As of 2025, DOBOT held 2.217 billion yuan in cash and equivalents, with a low debt-to-asset ratio of 15.48%. This cash pile stems from a series of fundraising efforts: the company raised about 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars in net proceeds through its Hong Kong IPO in December 2024 and two subsequent share placements in 2025.
The company's investment cash flow has been deeply negative in two of the last three years, with net outflows of 58 million yuan and 1.814 billion yuan, respectively. DOBOT explains that it has parked idle funds from the Hong Kong fundraisings in time deposits, generating interest income. Despite this, the proportion of proceeds allocated to working capital has risen from 10% in the Hong Kong IPO to 20% in the second placement, and now 25% in the A-share prospectus. The company's fundraising strategy, particularly the need for additional working capital given its ample cash reserves, has drawn investor scrutiny and remains an open question.
*Note: The lead image in this article is sourced from DOBOT's official website.*
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