Robotics Startup AgiBot Prepares Hong Kong IPO, With Citic, CICC and Morgan Stanley as Sponsors

Chinese humanoid robot maker AgiBot has begun preparing an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong stock exchange and has hired three investment banks as sponsors: Citic Securities, China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and Morgan Stanley. The South China Morning Post reported this in July 2026, citing two people familiar with the matter.

What is AgiBot

AgiBot is a fast-growing robot developer based in Shanghai, known in China as Zhiyuan Robotics. The company is betting on "embodied AI", an approach in which neural networks control a robot's physical body rather than operating only in a text chat.

AgiBot signaled its stock market ambitions as early as 2025, when it changed its legal form from a limited liability company to a joint-stock limited firm. This kind of restructuring is a standard legal step before filing for an IPO.

• Listing venue: Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX)
• IPO sponsors: Citic Securities, CICC and Morgan Stanley
• Headquarters: Shanghai
• In 2025, AgiBot converted from a limited liability company to a joint-stock company
• Source of the information: South China Morning Post, citing two sources

Why does the company need three sponsors?

AgiBot brought in three sponsors because large offerings in Hong Kong are usually run by several investment banks, which spreads the workload of preparing the prospectus, running the road show and placing shares with investors. According to SCMP, Citic Securities plays the lead role, while CICC and Morgan Stanley are named as joint sponsors.

The sources did not disclose the filing timeline or the target fundraising amount. The valuation AgiBot is aiming for in the offering has not been named either.

"AgiBot has hired

Citic Securities as a sponsor," the South China Morning Post reports, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Why does this matter for the robotics market?

AgiBot's IPO fits into a wave of stock market listings by Chinese companies working on humanoid robots and embodied AI. Beijing has named robotics one of its technology development priorities, and Hong Kong, after easing its listing rules, has again become a convenient venue for fast-growing tech companies from mainland China.

For investors, humanoid robots are a bet on the next big market after generative AI: the same models that write text and code are now being used to teach machines to walk, pick up objects and work in warehouses and factories. A public offering would give AgiBot capital to scale up production and compete with players such as Unitree and Tesla with its Optimus project.

What this means

AgiBot is moving from the lab stage to the public market. Hiring three major sponsors at once signals that the offering is being prepared in earnest and could become one of the landmark IPOs in the robotics sector in 2026. Concrete figures, namely the offering size and valuation, will emerge once the company files its official prospectus with HKEX.

Frequently asked questions

On which exchange does AgiBot plan its IPO?

AgiBot is preparing an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). The exact filing date has not yet been disclosed.

Who is running AgiBot's offering?

The IPO sponsors are three investment banks: Citic Securities (lead sponsor), China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and Morgan Stanley.