Chinese cloud robotics developer CloudMinds seeks US IPO

NEW YORK - Chinese cloud-based robotics company CloudMinds Inc filed for an initial public offering (IPO) on the US stock market.

The company intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "CMDS," with an expectation to raise up to $500 million, according to its prospectus filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission late Friday.

Citigroup, JP Morgan and UBS Investment Bank are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.

Founded in 2015, the Beijing-based company operates an open end-to-end cloud robot system and offers related products and services to the world.

Aging populations, structural labor shortages, rising labor costs and the drive for continuous productivity enhancement create growing demand for both industrial and service robots, the company said in its filing, citing market research company Frost & Sullivan.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the market size of total global robotics, measured by sales value, registered $75.5 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $201.0 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, the sales value of global cloud robotics is expected to hit $103.0 billion in 2023.

The number of Chinese firms listed on the US exchanges increased in 2018, as more companies mull going public driven by the country's fast economic development.

A total of 43 Chinese companies were newly listed in the US market last year, up from 24 in 2017 and 10 in 2016, according to data from Wind, a financial data provider.