00:00When we think about the future of robots, we picture the same thing.
00:04Humanoids, sleek, walking, talking machines.
00:08Companies like Agibot or Uni3 love to show them off.
00:11And it's easy to assume that this is the entire robotics industry.
00:16But the real robot revolution, the one that's actually making money right now,
00:22is happening in a much quieter and frankly, more boring corner of the market.
00:28I was reminded of this recently when I came across a company listing in Hong Kong.
00:33It's called Direct Drive Tech.
00:36You haven't heard of them, you're in good company.
00:38I had not either.
00:40And compared to the flashy Humanoids, their business is almost, well, boring.
00:47So what do they do?
00:48They don't build robot butlers.
00:50They build the muscles that move robots.
00:53Founded in 2020 by a young engineer, this Chinese firm makes direct drive actuator modules.
01:01Let me put that in layman language.
01:03They make the essential components that power a robot's movement without the noisy, bulky gears that traditional robots rely on.
01:12They are a component supplier.
01:14But that modest description hides something big.
01:19Because while the Humanoids are busy performing for their cameras,
01:24companies like Direct Drive Tech are quietly building the backbone of the industry.
01:29They make the essential building blocks for other companies' machines.
01:34And they are becoming serious players on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
01:38And that, I believe, is the key distinction.
01:41Yes, humanoid startups are doing well.
01:44And everyone is watching for the next big IPO from the Chinese mainland.
01:48But look at the current wave of robotics listings in Hong Kong.
01:52And a different picture emerges.
01:54Companies actually going public are overwhelmingly not humanoid makers.
02:00They are the firms behind actuators, sensors, specialized components.
02:06They're the supply chain, not the showpiece.
02:09Hong Kong's new Chapter 18C listing rule has been a huge enabler here, giving pre-revenue, high-growth, hard-tech
02:19companies a pathway to go public.
02:21It's a funding route for R&D-intensive firms.
02:24Since it took effect in 2023, it has already supported listings in AI, autonomous vehicles, and robotics, raising billions of
02:33dollars.
02:33In other words, the foundation of the robotics industry, the parts that make robots work, is maturing into a robust
02:43sector attracting investors.
02:45The market, it seems, is rewarding a new standard.
02:47Not stories, not promises, but business fundamentals.
02:51Real revenue, defined use cases like cleaning, logistics, and fitness, and supply chain positioning.
02:59Direct Drive Tech checks every single box.
03:03Its growth before listing was anything but boring, by the way.
03:07Revenue exploded from just 17.5 million R&B in 2023 to nearly 80 million in 2024, and then to
03:15282 million in 2025.
03:17Those are huge growth numbers year on year.
03:22Shipments of their actuator modules jumped from 200,000 units to 8.5 million.
03:28This isn't a prototype story.
03:30Their actuators are already inside the machines that consumers buy every day.
03:35Robot vacuum cleaners, mopping robots, and even fitness equipment.
03:38Now, contrast that with a humanoid startup still burning cash on R&D years away from mass production.
03:46I'm not downplaying their ambition.
03:48Their moment may well come.
03:50But the listings tell you where investors believe the money is today.
03:57The robotics companies actually making it to the Hong Kong Exchange are, by and large, the unglamorous ones.
04:03They are the muscle, not the face.
04:06And in a gold rush, as the old saying goes, the surest money is in selling picks and shovels.
04:14In this robot rush, Hong Kong's IPO pipeline is quietly proving the point.
04:19The quiet backbone of the future of robotics is the real business is being built.
04:24And it's listing right now.
