Direct Drive Tech officially launched its initial public offering on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEX) on September 21, in a listing that could make it the world’s first listed direct-drive robot company.
The company plans to offer 50 million H-shares at HK$21.6 per share, comprising 2.5 million shares under the Hong Kong public offering and 47.5 million shares under the international offering. The offering is expected to raise approximately HK$1.08 billion (US$138 million) before expenses. Trading is scheduled to commence on September 29, 2026.
If completed as planned, Direct Drive Tech will become the “first direct-drive stock” on the HKEX, marking the robot propulsion industry’s entry into a “gearless” direct-drive era.
Founded in 2020 and headquartered in Beijing, Direct Drive Tech develops and commercializes direct-drive robot propulsion modules and robots for consumer, commercial, and embodied intelligence applications. Its core innovation eliminates the reducer transmission stage, integrating motor, encoder, and driver so the motor drives joints directly — a departure from the “motor plus reducer” architecture that has dominated robot design for decades.
The company has built three technology pillars: robot propulsion modules, wheeled-legged robots, and modular docking technology.
Its direct-drive propulsion module lineup includes the M05, M06, M07, M15, and P10 series. In 2025, it shipped approximately 8.5 million units for consumer robots.
On the robot side, it has launched the Xingtian, TITA, and D1 wheeled-legged robots. According to Frost & Sullivan, each is a world first in its category: the first commercially launched direct-drive two-wheeled-legged robot, the first eight-degree-of-freedom two-wheeled-legged robot, and the first fully modular two-wheeled-legged robot, respectively.
As for financial conditions, its revenue grew from RMB 17.54 million in 2023 to RMB 282 million in 2025, a three-year compound annual growth rate of 300.8%. Gross margin rose from 13.5% to 21.5% over the same period. In the first half of 2026, revenue reached approximately RMB 200 million, up 39.7% year over year, with propulsion modules contributing 94.5%.
Adjusted net loss narrowed from RMB 61.22 million in 2023 to RMB 43.25 million in 2025, and further to RMB 27.5 million in the first half of 2026.
By 2025 revenue, Direct Drive Tech ranked first in China’s consumer robot direct-drive propulsion module market with a 61.1% share, per Frost & Sullivan. It has partnered with four of the world’s top ten consumer robot providers, though its top five customers accounted for 85.7% of 2025 revenue.
In terms of financing, the company has completed 12 financing rounds, raising approximately RMB 650 million. Its post-money valuation rose from RMB 770 million at the start of 2025 to RMB 3.185 billion by year-end.
Regarding the team members, Di Zhang, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Direct Drive Tech, born in 1994, holds a bachelor’s degree from Beijing Institute of Technology and a master’s degree from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where he studied under Professor Zexiang Li. He founded the company in March 2020 in Songshan Lake, Dongguan, with seed funding from Li’s XBOTPARK.
The team is mainly composed of highly educated talents from renowned universities such as the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Zhejiang University, and Hunan University, as well as industry experts from well-known enterprises like DJI, Luoyuaxi, and IBM.
Net proceeds are expected to be approximately HK$982.5 million, assuming no over-allotment exercise. About 50% will fund R&D, 20% will deepen partnerships and expand sales, 20% will improve production capacity, and 10% will serve as working capital.
Frost & Sullivan projects the global consumer robot direct-drive propulsion module market will reach RMB 9.5 billion by 2030, a 97.4% compound annual growth rate, while China’s wheeled-legged robot market will reach RMB 3.14 billion, growing at 90.1% annually.
From “motor plus reducer” to “gearless direct drive,” Direct Drive Tech is betting that fundamental technological change can reshape the global robot propulsion industry. Its September 29 debut will be the first capital markets test of that bet.
