BEIJING — Galaxea AI’s proposed Hong Kong initial public offering faces uncertainty as Chinese regulators press robotics companies to show stronger finances and substantial technological innovation before entering public markets.

The Beijing-based embodied AI and robotics developer confidentially filed an application with the Hong Kong stock exchange during the first half of 2026, , The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. China International Capital Corp. and Citi are working on the offering, according to the report.

Some Galaxea investors are concerned that the company’s financial outlook may not satisfy regulatory scrutiny, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. The newspaper did not report the startup’s revenue, losses, expected offering size or proposed valuation.

Because the application was submitted confidentially, Robot24 could not locate a prospectus or independently confirm the filing. Galaxea has not publicly announced the offering, and the Journal said the company did not respond to its request for comment. Citi declined to comment.

The listing plan requires approval from Chinese authorities. Companies generally have 12 months to complete a Hong Kong IPO after applying, the Journal reported, raising the possibility that regulatory delays could derail the process.

Chinese regulators have not published new listing rules specifically for humanoid robotics companies. The China Securities Regulatory Commission has, however, held discussions with investment banks and institutional investors about raising the threshold for such offerings, according to earlier Journal reporting.

Officials reportedly want applicants to present stronger finances, credible revenue prospects or meaningful technological advances. The Financial Times separately reported that regulators had warned bankers against bringing large numbers of lower-quality companies to market and continued to favor conservative IPO pricing. Neither report establishes that authorities have rejected Galaxea’s application or ordered the company to delay it.

Galaxea was founded in 2023 by Gao Jiyang, who earned a doctorate in computer vision from the University of Southern California and previously worked at Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous-vehicle subsidiary. Its investors include Meituan, IDG Capital and a Beijing government investment vehicle, according to the Journal.

The startup develops robot hardware, embodied AI models and research tools. Its R1 product family  (Chinese-language report) consists of wheeled, dual-arm robots rather than bipedal humanoids. The company lists versions intended for research, data collection and operational tasks, although those descriptions do not establish routine commercial deployment.

Galaxea says the R1 Pro has 26 degrees of freedom and a rated payload of 3.5 kilograms per arm when measured at 0.5 meter. Its product page lists Nvidia’s Jetson AGX Orin as the onboard computing platform. Robot24 has not independently tested those specifications.

The company also develops vision-language-action models and world models intended to translate visual information and instructions into robot movements. Its public demonstrations and technical releases show active development, but they do not reveal how much recurring revenue the software or hardware generates.

Galaxea was valued at about $3 billion in an April private financing round, people familiar with the transaction told the Journal. Gasgoo reported that the company raised approximately 2 billion yuan in a Series B+ round after securing 1 billion yuan in February, valuing it at more than 20 billion yuan. The financing figures have not been confirmed in audited public filings.

The scrutiny follows volatile trading in Unitree Robotics after its mainland China listing. Unitree’s shares rose 460% on their first trading day before falling to about 50% below their post-listing peak, according to the Journal.

Galaxea’s confidential application remains a proposed IPO, not an approved offering. The company has not publicly disclosed a timetable, price range, fundraising target or audited financial results.