Analysis of the Impact of Reduced R&D Investment on Ledong Robotics' Technological Advantages

According to the latest public information, the continuous decline in Ledong Robotics’ R&D investment may indeed have a significant impact on its technological advantages. The following is an in-depth analysis from multiple dimensions:

According to the prospectus data, Ledong Robotics’ R&D expenditure as a percentage of revenue shows a cliff-like decline**[1]**:

Year	R&D Expenditure Ratio
2022	41%
2024	Continued decline
H1 2025	Only 13%

This decline is extremely rare in the technology-intensive robotics industry, reflecting that the company is facing severe constraints in R&D resource allocation**[1][2]**.

Leading complete machine manufacturers such as Roborock Technology and Dreame Technology are accelerating their self-research process. Roborock Technology launched a robotic vacuum cleaner equipped with a robotic arm at CES 2025, which has abandoned the lidar sensor and adopted its self-developed “StarSight Autonomous System 2.0”. This directly weakens the product demand for suppliers like Ledong Robotics.

Automotive lidar giants such as Hesai Technology and RoboSense are aggressively entering the robotics market. In the third quarter of 2025, Hesai Technology’s delivery volume in the robotics field reached 60,600 units, a year-on-year surge of 1311.9%; RoboSense’s revenue in the robotics field during the same period reached 142 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 157.8%.

Ledong Robotics’ gross profit margin dropped from 27.3% in 2022 to 19.5% in 2024, and the gross profit margin of its main sensor business fell to only 15.2%, far lower than comparable companies like Orbbec**[1][2]**. Although the low-price competition strategy can maintain market share, it further compresses the space for R&D investment, forming a vicious circle.

In the highly technology-driven fields of visual perception and lawn mowing robots, continuous R&D investment is the key to maintaining technological advantages. The sharp drop in R&D ratio from 41% to 13% will directly affect:

• Speed of new product development
• Core technology iteration capability
• Algorithm optimization and upgrade
• Patent technology reserve

Ledong Robotics is actively expanding its lawn mowing robot business as a second growth curve. From 2023 to the first half of 2025, the revenue related to lawn mowing robots was 0 yuan, 23.272 million yuan, and 77.459 million yuan respectively, maintaining a rapid growth rate**[1]**. However, this field also faces fierce competition.

The company plans to use the IPO proceeds to strengthen the R&D of visual perception technology for intelligent robots, optimize products, brand building and international expansion**[1][2]**. However, against the backdrop of continuous losses and rising debt ratios (from 16% in 2022 to 49% at the end of June 2025), the confidence of the capital market in its R&D sustainability is worthy of attention.

1. Short-term impact:
   In the optical perception field with rapid technological iteration, the sharp drop in R&D investment may lead to a decline in product competitiveness, making it difficult to cope with the dual pressures from customers’ self-research and giants’ cross-border entry.

2. Mid-term impact:
   Once the technological advantage is weakened, it will further affect customer stickiness and market share, forming a vicious circle of “decline in R&D investment → technological backwardness → order loss → revenue decline → further decline in R&D investment”.

3. Long-term impact:
   Against the backdrop of a 23.6% CAGR in the intelligent robot industry (the global intelligent robot market size is expected to reach 1,005.8 billion yuan by 2029), insufficient R&D investment may cause the company to miss out on industry development dividends**[2]**.

Whether Ledong Robotics can successfully raise funds through IPO to reverse the downward trend of R&D investment, and whether the lawn mowing robot business can become a truly effective second growth curve, will be the key to maintaining its technological advantages. If the R&D investment problem cannot be effectively solved, the company’s leading technological position in the visual perception field may be difficult to sustain.

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[1] Sina Finance - “Ledong Robotics ‘Wounded’ Again for Hong Kong IPO: Continuous Losses, Declining R&D Ratio Year by Year, Debt Pressure” (https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/observe/2025-12-08/doc-inhaavuy3485232.shtml)

[2] Tencent News - “How Can Ledong Robotics Tell a New Story to Hong Kong Stocks with Declining Gross Profit Margin Year by Year?” (https://news.qq.com/rain/a/20251227A016GE00)