【导读】本文探讨了中国机器人公司密集寻求IPO的背后逻辑。尽管中国凭借完善的供应链、规模制造和工程人才，在机器人（具身AI）领域展现出优势，但其发展也受制于关键技术限制、资本压力及地缘政治。企业急于上市融资，并聚焦于工业、物流等有限应用场景，但距离商业化落地仍远。文章指出，真正的风险在于创新所需的共享基础被政治叙事削弱，这或将制约技术发展的持久性与安全性。
Why China has so many robot IPOs
为何中国有如此多的机器人公司上市
IPO /ˌaɪ piː ˈəʊ/ n. 首次公开募股
Viral, dancing machines are far from commercial reality but trade restrictions are driving market activity
病毒式传播的跳舞机器人远未商业化，但贸易限制正推动市场活动
viral /ˈvaɪrəl/ adj. 病毒式传播的
commercial /kəˈmɜːʃəl/ adj. 商业化的
Chinese companies accounted for more than half of all the humanoid robot exhibitors on show at this year’s CES tech trade show in Las Vegas. That prominence was no accident. China’s position in robotics reflects an industrial dynamic that has been building for decades.
在今年拉斯维加斯CES科技贸易展上，中国企业占所有人形机器人参展商的一半以上。这种突出地位并非偶然。中国在机器人领域的地位反映了数十年积累的产业动能。
accounted for /əˈkaʊntɪd fɔːr/ v. 占（比例）
exhibitors /ɪɡˈzɪbɪtəz/ n. 参展商
prominence /ˈprɒmɪnəns/ n. 突出
dynamic /daɪˈnæmɪk/ n. 动能
The country’s manufacturing system, anchored by dense, highly co-ordinated supply chains, means that it can move quickly in robotics — a field also known as embodied AI. Scale manufacturing and vertical integration allow Chinese tech companies to compress development cycles and aggressively lower costs.
该国以密集、高度协同的供应链为基础的制造体系，意味着其能在机器人领域（亦称“具身AI”）快速行动。规模制造和垂直整合让中国科技公司能够压缩开发周期并大幅降低成本。
anchored /ˈæŋkəd/ v. 基于
co-ordinated /kəʊˈɔːdɪneɪtɪd/ adj. 协同的
embodied AI /ɪmˈbɒdid eɪ aɪ/ n. 具身人工智能
vertical integration /ˈvɜːtɪkəl ˌɪntɪˈɡreɪʃən/ n. 垂直整合
compress /kəmˈpres/ v. 压缩
These advantages have already shaped China’s electric vehicle sector, where early scepticism about quality and sophistication eventually gave way to global dominance.
这些优势已经塑造了中国的电动汽车行业，早期对其质量和精密性的怀疑最终让位于全球主导地位。
scepticism /ˈskeptɪsɪzəm/ n. 怀疑
sophistication /səˌfɪstɪˈkeɪʃən/ n. 精密性
gave way to /ɡeɪv weɪ tuː/ v. 让位于
Engineering talent has reinforced these foundations. China has cultivated a large and increasingly diverse pool of specialised labour across automation, control systems and advanced manufacturing.
工程人才巩固了这些基础。中国在自动化、控制系统和先进制造领域培育了规模庞大且日益多元化的专业劳动力储备。
reinforced /ˌriːɪnˈfɔːst/ v. 巩固
cultivated /ˈkʌltɪveɪtɪd/ v. 培育
diverse /daɪˈvɜːs/ adj. 多元的
Yet beyond the Vegas exhibition halls, the mood among Chinese tech vendors was notably more restrained. In closed-door conversations, there were no illusions about the challenges they face.
然而在拉斯维加斯展馆之外，中国科技厂商的情绪明显更为审慎。在闭门谈话中，他们对面临的挑战不抱幻想。
vendors /ˈvendəz/ n. 厂商
restrained /rɪˈstreɪnd/ adj. 克制的
illusions /ɪˈluːʒənz/ n. 幻想
Entrepreneurs in China consistently point to weaknesses in frontier research and advanced materials caused by US restrictions on hardware. Engineering ingenuity can only stretch existing resources so far and access to deep, liquid capital markets remains tight. Most robotic start-ups are still in cash-burning, pre-profit phases with little margin for delay.
中国企业家一致指出，由于美国对硬件的限制，他们在前沿研究和先进材料方面存在弱点。工程独创性只能将现有资源发挥到如此程度，而进入深度、流动性资本市场的渠道仍然紧张。大多数机器人初创公司仍处于烧钱、未盈利阶段，几乎没有延迟的余地。
entrepreneurs /ˌɒntrəprəˈnɜːz/ n. 企业家
frontier /ˈfrʌntɪə/ n. 前沿
ingenuity /ˌɪndʒəˈnjuːəti/ n. 独创性
liquid /ˈlɪkwɪd/ adj. 流动的
margin /ˈmɑːdʒɪn/ n. 余地
These realities help to explain the sector’s accelerating rush towards public listings. Over the past year, dozens of Chinese robotics and AI companies have filed for IPOs in Hong Kong, many of them frantically oversubscribed. Investor enthusiasm for companies such as Geek+ and OneRobotics is genuine but so is the fundraising urgency. Embodied AI is a capital-intensive, long-horizon business. And although listing rules for hard tech have loosened, the queue remains long and the timelines uncertain.
这些现实有助于解释该行业加速涌向公开上市的原因。过去一年，数十家中国机器人和AI公司已在香港提交IPO申请，其中许多被疯狂超额认购。投资者对极智嘉、壹机器等公司的热情是真实的，但融资的紧迫性同样真实。具身AI是资本密集型、长周期的业务。尽管硬科技的上市规则已放松，但排队队伍仍然很长，时间表也不确定。
listings /ˈlɪstɪŋz/ n. 上市
filed for /faɪld fɔːr/ v. 提交申请
frantically /ˈfræntɪkli/ adv. 疯狂地
oversubscribed /ˌəʊvəsəbˈskraɪbd/ adj. 超额认购的
capital-intensive /ˈkæpɪtl ɪnˈtensɪv/ adj. 资本密集型的
timelines /ˈtaɪmlaɪnz/ n. 时间表
The result is a growing bias from start-up investors for development paths with commercial justification.
结果是初创投资者越来越偏向具有商业合理性的发展路径。
bias /ˈbaɪəs/ n. 偏向
justification /ˌdʒʌstɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ n. 合理性
Despite wide variation in technical approaches, many Chinese robotics firms are converging on the same applications: industrial automation, logistics, hazardous environments and household tasks. Even so, large-scale deployment in the near term is unrealistic. The viral, dancing robots remain far from commercial reality.
尽管技术路径差异很大，但许多中国机器人公司正汇聚于相同的应用领域：工业自动化、物流、危险环境和家庭任务。即便如此，近期的大规模部署仍不现实。那些病毒式传播的跳舞机器人距离商业现实仍然遥远。
converging /kənˈvɜːdʒɪŋ/ v. 汇聚
logistics /ləˈdʒɪstɪks/ n. 物流
hazardous /ˈhæzədəs/ adj. 危险的
deployment /dɪˈplɔɪmənt/ n. 部署
As with electric vehicles, this means that China’s manufacturing prowess is both an enabler and a constraint. Expansion outpaces demand. That means global markets are critical to the success of the sector. Hence all the stalls at CES — the biggest electronics trade show in the world.
与电动汽车一样，这意味着中国的制造实力既是助推器也是约束。扩张速度超过了需求。这意味着全球市场对该行业的成功至关重要。因此才有了CES上的所有展位——这是全球最大的电子贸易展。
prowess /ˈpraʊəs/ n. 实力
enabler /ɪˈneɪblə/ n. 助推因素
outpaces /aʊtˈpeɪsɪz/ v. 超过
stalls /stɔːlz/ n. 展位
Within the US, Chinese technology is often viewed primarily through a security lens. China hopes that US export controls will gradually lose their bite. But this is not the end of the sector’s problems. There is growing concern within China that the country’s own emphasis on national security and self-sufficiency risks underestimating the need for access to international hardware and global markets. And there is recognition that a research culture that prioritises short-term goals is poorly suited to large-scale breakthroughs.
在美国，中国技术通常主要从安全视角来看待。中国希望美国的出口管制会逐渐失去威力。但这并非该行业问题的终结。中国国内日益担心，该国自身对国家安全和自给自足的强调，可能低估了对国际硬件和全球市场的需求。并且人们认识到，优先短期目标的研究文化不太适合取得大规模突破。
lens /lenz/ n. 视角
bite /baɪt/ n. 威力
self-sufficiency /self səˈfɪʃənsi/ n. 自给自足
prioritises /praɪˈɒrətaɪzɪz/ v. 优先考虑
A familiar line is now circulating in the country: China once exchanged market access for technology; today, that logic is reversing.
国内现在流传着一句熟悉的话：中国曾以市场换技术；如今，这个逻辑正在逆转。
circulating /ˈsɜːkjəleɪtɪŋ/ v. 流传
reversing /rɪˈvɜːsɪŋ/ v. 逆转
This pattern extends beyond robotics. See the Hong Kong IPOs of other tech companies such as Zhipu and MiniMax. At a recent high-profile AI industry summit in Beijing, China’s leading tech superstars openly warned of limited access to high-end chips, capital.
这种模式延伸至机器人领域之外。参见智谱、MiniMax等其他科技公司在香港的IPO。在近期北京一场备受瞩目的AI行业峰会上，中国顶尖科技巨头公开警告高端芯片获取受限、资本不足。
pattern /ˈpætən/ n. 模式
summit /ˈsʌmɪt/ n. 峰会
The robots that are on display to the rest of the world offer a vivid demonstration of China’s strengths. Understanding China’s technological future requires moving beyond a simplistic “who is winning” narrative. The more consequential story lies in how geopolitical constraints are rewriting incentives, business models and the direction of innovation.
向世界展示的这些机器人，生动彰显了中国的实力。 要理解中国技术的未来，我们需要超越“谁将胜出”这种简单化的叙事。更具深远影响的故事在于，地缘政治的约束如何重塑激励机制、商业模式以及创新的方向。
vivid /ˈvɪvɪd/ adj. 生动的
consequential /ˌkɒnsɪˈkwenʃəl/ adj. 重要的
geopolitical /ˌdʒiːəʊpəˈlɪtɪkəl/ adj. 地缘政治的
incentives /ɪnˈsentɪvz/ n. 激励
For both the US and China, the greatest risk to progress does not lie in technological advancement, an area in which both countries are formidable. The real risk is that political narratives will strip innovation of the shared foundations that are needed to make it durable, intelligible and safe.
对美中两国而言，进步的最大风险不在于技术进步——两国在这一领域都实力强大。真正的风险在于政治叙事将剥离创新所需的共享基础，而这些基础是使其持久、可理解和安全所必需的。
formidable /ˈfɔːmɪdəbl/ adj. 强大的
strip /strɪp/ v. 剥离
intelligible /ɪnˈtelɪdʒəbl/ adj. 可理解的
