In 2001, over two decades ago, Huawei Electric was sold to Emerson. Following this transaction, Zhu Xingming became an executive at Emerson's subsidiary, AnSheng Electric Company. After departing from AnSheng Electric in 2003, Zhu Xingming collaborated with several former colleagues from the Huawei Electric division to co-found Inovance Technology in Shenzhen.
Today, this blue-chip company, boasting a market capitalization of 200 billion yuan, captures the attention of the capital market with its every move.
Zhu Xingming was born in 1967 in Yueyang, Hunan Province. According to the 2025 Hurun Rich List, Zhu Xingming and his daughter Zhu Hanyue hold a fortune of 21.5 billion yuan, ranking 290th.
"If your company habitually relies on low prices to seize market share, it is akin to developing a chronic illness," stated Zhu Xingming, Chairman of Inovance Technology, with characteristic directness.
He emphasized that a low-price strategy not only erodes corporate profits but also undermines the capacity for innovation, gradually diminishing an organization's ability to create value. Inovance has already discontinued several business lines operating on this model, underscoring the necessity for strategic resolve and the wisdom to prioritize.
As a manufacturing enterprise, Inovance Technology exhibits enviable profitability. Institutional forecasts project the company's 2025 revenue to approach 46 billion yuan, with net profit attributable to shareholders reaching 5.5 billion yuan.
On the evening of January 19, Inovance Technology disclosed an announcement indicating that, to advance its internationalization strategy and leverage international capital markets for diversified financing channels, the company is planning an overseas issuance of shares and a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
As of now, the company is in discussions with relevant intermediaries regarding the H-share issuance and listing, with specific details yet to be finalized. This H-share offering will not result in any change to the company's actual controller.
On January 20, Inovance Technology's stock price experienced a slight decline of 1.11%, closing at 79.38 yuan, with a total market capitalization of 214.9 billion yuan.
Expanding its business along the trajectory of power electronics, Inovance's initial product development focused on inverters, crucial devices for precisely controlling motor speed and torque in industrial automation. At the dawn of the 21st century, factories in China predominantly used inverters and controllers from European and American brands, which were not only expensive but also plagued by lengthy waits for maintenance parts, often lasting one to two months.
Through steady progress, Inovance's inverter products have now ascended to the top position among domestic brands, gaining the confidence to compete directly with international giants like ABB, Siemens, and Schneider Electric.
In 2007, Zhu Xingming began focusing on servo systems and PLC products, sectors then dominated by foreign corporations. It wasn't until 2009 that Inovance launched its first servo system, which initially faced significant challenges, failing seven out of ten field tests. According to data from Gongkong, Inovance now commands a 15.9% market share in servo motors, even surpassing established players like Yaskawa, Delta, Panasonic, and Mitsubishi.
By 2013, Zhu Xingming started contemplating a strategic shift: while Inovance had historically succeeded by targeting smaller segments, the future demanded leveraging its scale for even greater growth, recognizing that only large industries can nurture substantial enterprises.
Driven by this insight, Inovance strategically entered the automotive industry in 2016, a market Zhu Xingming viewed as the ideal arena for scaling up. This pivotal decision later positioned the company to capitalize on the new energy vehicle boom, enabling it to transcend its traditional industrial automation focus and become a leading component supplier for numerous prominent NEV manufacturers, securing the top market share.
Last year, Inovance Technology successfully spun off its subsidiary United Motion, which was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange with a market capitalization reaching 66.973 billion yuan.
Today, Inovance Technology's product portfolio spans servo drives, PLCs, elevator control systems, and NEV motor controllers and drive systems. Essentially, the company leverages its core expertise in power electronics and motor drive/control technologies to develop diverse product forms tailored to various industry needs.
Recent investor relations reports from Inovance indicate an expansion from its foundational "Inverter + Servo + PLC" offerings to include robotics, vision products, sensors, precision machinery, and pneumatic products. By integrating these with existing strengths, the company aims to deliver comprehensive, multi-product solutions to its clients.
Breaking new ground with its internationalization strategy, Inovance Technology reported revenue of 31.663 billion yuan for the first three quarters of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 24.67%. Net profit attributable to shareholders grew by 26.84% to 4.254 billion yuan.
While these figures suggest solid performance, Inovance faces significant challenges. Its core industrial automation business is experiencing slowing growth, and NEV penetration rates have peaked. Concurrently, rising costs for upstream components like chips, copper, and aluminum are squeezing margins on key products. Consequently, on January 8, 2026, Inovance announced price increases for some of its products.
In its investor communications, Inovance stated it would continue to mitigate pressures from raw material volatility and competition through rapid product iteration and optimization—focusing on design enhancements, component updates, and economies of scale in procurement and manufacturing—thereby improving performance while reducing costs.
With upstream cost pressures persisting, the critical question for Zhu Xingming is identifying the next high-growth sector equivalent to "new energy vehicles" to sustain expansion.
In 2025, Inovance entered two emerging fields: humanoid robotics and a renewed focus on energy storage, signaling ambitious plans.
The company has already developed core components for humanoid robots, including 7-DOF bionic arms, planetary rotary actuators, linear actuators, frameless torque motors, low-voltage DC drivers, and planetary roller screws. Furthermore, it plans to offer scenario-specific products and solutions based on practical manufacturing applications and client needs.
The return to the energy storage赛道 reflects strategic introspection. During the broader new energy sector's development, Inovance missed the opportunity in photovoltaic inverters, instead concentrating on NEVs and industrial automation. Although the NEV business subsequently flourished, internally, the decision to abandon PV inverters is regarded as a strategic misstep.
This "return" is not a start from scratch. Inovance is not a novice in energy storage; as early as 2022, its Power Conversion Systems ranked third in domestic shipments and fourth globally, a position it has maintained.
Since 2025, Inovance has been highly active in energy storage, forming strategic partnerships with various upstream and downstream companies. Collaborations span large-scale energy storage power stations, commercial & industrial storage, integrated solar-storage-charging systems, and R&D, demonstrating a dual-track approach targeting both domestic and international markets with a focus on technology and application scenarios.
At the EESA Energy Storage Summit in August 2025, Inovance launched several groundbreaking global-first products, including a 430kW liquid-cooled string PCS and a 3.5MW high-power centralized PCS.
A source close to the company revealed that following the announcement of its Industrial Zero-Carbon Strategy last year, Inovance aims to act as a solutions integrator, "building its own ecosystem and empowering customers in their energy transition. We will increase investment in integrating energy sources with loads, particularly enhancing solution architecture design and layout from an ecological perspective."
After the domestic market showed signs of saturation in 2024, Inovance turned its focus overseas, adopting strategies described as "industry-line expansion abroad" and "boarding existing ships to go overseas." However, penetrating the core markets dominated by international giants remains challenging, and the company's overseas revenue contribution remains relatively small.
The proposed Hong Kong IPO is stated to be aimed at advancing this internationalization strategy, enhancing Inovance's global brand image, and boosting its overall competitiveness in the world market.
Currently, Inovance is intensifying its brand-building efforts internationally, rapidly establishing a global platform encompassing sales, R&D, and supply chain operations to export its leading segment-specific solutions to the overseas branches of multinational clients.
