China has three new criteria for humanoid robot IPOs. Few, if any, meet them

Humanoid robots box during the 5th Global Digital Trade Expo on September 25, 2026 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Vcg | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China's securities regulator is raising the bar for public listings of humanoid robot startups, according to three sources familiar with the CSRC's thinking.It's a sign of how one of the hottest sectors of the market is cooling, as investors globally assess whether artificial intelligence stocks are in a bubble. The Chinese regulator wants local "embodied AI" startups seeking to go public to meet three specific criteria, according to the sources, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation. They are:The "window guidance" requires that the humanoid applicants have sustainable revenue and commercial orders. Losses must narrow, with one source saying a three-year forecast is needed. The company must possess core technology such as robotic brain or hands.Even if a startup only has to meet two of the three criteria, as one source indicated, it's unclear which, if any, of the companies can do so. That's lowered expectations to just a handful, or none, of these startups making it to public markets, ...