[Edaily SOYEON KIM Reporters Kim Hyung-wook and Choi Oh-hyun] Major Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor tech companies are raising capital one after another through initial public offerings (IPOs) on the mainland Chinese stock market. While Chinese “Red Tech” (cutting-edge technology) companies once sought to grow into global giants by raising funds on the New York Stock Exchange, escaping U.S. sanctions and safeguarding technological sovereignty based on domestic capital has now become an inevitable choice for survival.

◇ Securing 13 trillion in funding… Chinese humanoid robot company Unitree

Unitree, a humanoid robotics company currently pursuing an IPO on the STAR Market—often referred to as “China’s Nasdaq”—at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, has already moved beyond the stage of being a mere robotics startup. Last year’s revenue reached 1.7 billion yuan (approximately 360 billion won), more than quadrupling from the previous year. Of this, revenue from humanoid robots alone totaled 867.8 million yuan, accounting for more than half of the total. Revenue generated from markets outside China accounts for more than 40% of the total.

Building on this experience in robot commercialization, Unitree plans to secure massive funding of 61 billion yuan (approximately 12.8 trillion won) through the IPO. The funds raised are expected to be reinvested in robot software and hardware development, new product development, and the expansion of production capacity. This IPO is seen as a major turning point marking the full-scale emergence of China’s robotics ecosystem, which has astonished the world through various videos and other media.

Of particular note is the participation of AI company DeepSeek as a strategic investor in this IPO. DeepSeek invested 140.8 million yuan in Unitree, securing a 2.31% stake. With DeepSeek—which provides the “brain” of AI—and Unitree—which builds the “body” of humanoid robots—connecting through capital, observers note that a physical AI ecosystem is taking shape within China.

Chinese companies already wield significant influence in the global humanoid robot market. Last year, global shipments of humanoid robots were estimated at approximately 13,000 units, with Chinese companies’ products accounting for an estimated 85–90% of that total.

◇ YMTC Doubles Market Share in Two Years

Chinese NAND flash company YMTC began the process of an IPO on the STAR Market last May. By securing core process technologies and patents for next-generation NAND with over 400 layers, YMTC is rapidly narrowing the technological gap with global leaders. The company is enhancing its technological competitiveness by localizing the equipment needed for NAND manufacturing and securing hybrid bonding technology. In particular, hybrid bonding is considered a game-changer that could reshape the future of the NAND market.

YMTC has increased the integration density and performance of its NAND flash through “Xtacking,” a proprietary technology that manufactures cells and logic circuits on separate wafers and then connects them via hybrid bonding. Last year, SamsungElectronics reportedly signed a patent agreement with YMTC regarding hybrid bonding—used in 3D NAND manufacturing—to avoid patent disputes.

In particular, even amid intense U.S. sanctions, YMTC has rapidly narrowed the technology gap with global companies by leveraging its proprietary technology. Backed by support from the Chinese government, it has made large-scale investments to expand production capacity, secured price competitiveness, and increased its global market share. Now, having raised substantial funds from capital markets to expand its operations, it is once again moving to increase production capacity and is setting its sights squarely on global technological supremacy.

YMTC poses a greater threat to K-Memory than CXMT does. This is because, unlike the DRAM market—where the oligopoly of the “Big Three” (SamsungElectronics, SK hynix, and Micron) is firmly established—the NAND market features complex competition among numerous players. YMTC’s global NAND market share, measured by revenue, rose by 5 percentage points in just one year, from 8% in the first quarter of last year to 13%.

In the DRAM sector, U.S. sanctions on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment impose physical constraints on securing advanced process technologies beyond a certain level. However, in the NAND sector, there is room to circumvent equipment sanctions through structural stacking technology, making China’s pursuit rapid and threatening. Kim Hyung-joon, head of the Next-Generation Intelligent Semiconductor Business Division (Professor Emeritus at Seoul National University), explained, “China’s pursuit of NAND is accelerating at an even steeper pace,” adding, “Rather than developing technology step by step in a sequential manner, China is preparing to turn the tables by developing technology in an unconventional direction that completely shifts the paradigm.”

A senior industry official remarked, “Red Tech companies are operating under the Chinese Communist Party’s overarching strategy,” adding, “The fact that companies which used to head to U.S. capital markets in the early 2000s are now coming to mainland China demonstrates their confidence in achieving technological self-reliance.”

Jeon Byeong-seo, director of the China Economic and Financial Research Institute, said, “Chinese companies have now moved beyond the subsidy phase and are entering the stock market on a large scale,” adding, “Companies that received subsidies have grown to the point where they are now independently raising hundreds of trillions of won on the stock market.” He continued, “The South Korean government also needs to provide concentrated support at the national level for next-generation AI memory research and development (R&D),” and added, “It must also maintain its current strategy of cooperating to uphold the U.S.-led alliance on semiconductor export restrictions against China.”