China’s collaborative-robot track has a new IPO contender. Faro (Suzhou) Robotics Technology has formally opened its A-share listing tutoring, with Guotai Haitong as the tutoring sponsor.
Its IPO path has moved steadily this year. In March 2026 Faro completed its joint-stock restructuring. In August it signed the tutoring agreement with Guotai Haitong Securities. In September the Jiangsu regulator published its tutoring filing, officially entering the tutoring stage.
Behind the brisk listing schedule is a wall of top-tier capital. Faro has raised more than RMB 2.2 billion in total, with a remarkable shareholder roster. It drew state-linked backing from the China Life Dual-Carbon Fund, Suzhou Industrial Investment and Suzhou Venture Capital, and assembled a who’s who of private names: Meituan Longzhu, Alibaba, Hillhouse Venture, Shunwei Capital, Source Code Capital and Zhongding Capital. Public information puts its post-money valuation above RMB 7 billion.
The company has not yet disclosed its listing board or a full prospectus. Once tutoring completes and passes review, revenue, net profit and other core operating figures will unlock for capital-market scrutiny.
Two star students, one decade-long partnership
Faro was founded in 2019 by two Harbin Institute of Technology alumni, Yao Ting and Gong Xiangfeng. Yao studied mechanical engineering at HIT and holds a master’s from ETH Zurich, and previously worked at the industrial-robot giant ABB. Gong studied communications engineering at HIT and brings deep serial-entrepreneur experience.
Since inception Faro has pursued a “make robots universal” strategy. It became one of the first Chinese robotics firms to achieve supply-chain innovation with full in-house R&D and production of core components, and was named a national-level specialised “little giant” SME.
On equity, Yao holds 24.74 per cent. The partnership entities controlled by Gong as managing partner hold 22.39 per cent and 13.48 per cent respectively.
A differentiated path in collaborative robots
Unlike most domestic collaborative-robot makers that buy core components and focus on whole-machine integration, Faro built a different route. In the collaborative segment it now offers a full load range of 3 to 30 kg across 11 main models, FR3 through FR35. It spun out welding-specific WM series and commercial C series. On its self-developed AIRLab embodied-intelligence platform it shipped AIRLab smart welding, AIRLab bin-picking, intelligent palletising and dual-arm robots, lifting traditional robots from “mechanical execution” to perception and decision making.
Welding is a flagship track. Faro has worked it for six straight years since 2019, and in 2025 its welding-robot shipments passed 3,000 units. In June 2026 its welding agent landed at a major domestic port-machinery manufacturer, supplying intelligent solutions for quayside gantry columns and assorted small-part welding.
Self-controlled components as the moat
Component autonomy is Faro’s core barrier. As one of the first Chinese robot firms with fully self-developed core parts, it makes its own controllers, encoders, servo drives, harmonic reducers, servo motors and brakes. It has delivered more than 250,000 joint modules and built capacity for 300,000 joint modules a year.
In the hot humanoid race Faro positions itself as an upstream hardware supplier, aiming to become a Tier-1 full-stack provider with custom solutions spanning joint module, humanoid arm, humanoid upper body and whole machine. Its ART-series full-stack matrix has reached embodied AI, automotive manufacturing, precision electronics, healthcare, commercial service, industrial welding and material handling.
Global footprint
With collaborative robots securing the base and humanoids opening new growth, Faro has reached more than 100 countries and regions including North America, Europe, Japan and Korea, and Southeast Asia, deepening a clear globalisation story for Chinese robots going abroad.
In 2025 Faro signed orders above 13,000 units, up 86 per cent year on year, and shipped more than 11,000 units, up 68 per cent. In February 2026 it joined the top tier of collaborative-robot brands with both annual production and sales above 10,000 units.
Overseas growth is explosive. Overseas signed orders exceeded 4,200 units, up 251 per cent, and overseas shipments passed 3,100 units, up 176 per cent. Europe is the overseas core, with North America, Japan and Korea, Southeast Asia and South Asia accelerating.
Editor’s note: This is an adapted translation of the original OFweek Robotics report. It has been trimmed and restructured for readability for an international business audience. The full original (in Chinese) is at https://robot.ofweek.com/2026-09/ART-8321202-8120-30702035.html.
Translated and adapted from OFweek Robotics (https://robot.ofweek.com/2026-09/ART-8321202-8120-30702035.html).