On August 24, DOBOT (02432.HK) released its interim results for the first half of fiscal 2026, revealing a sharp rise in revenue alongside an expanded net loss.

For the six-month period, the company generated approximately RMB 320 million in revenue, a year-on-year increase of about 107%. Its gross margin stood at roughly 47%, or close to 49% after excluding the impact of inventory write-downs. At the same time, the net loss widened to approximately RMB 110 million, with an adjusted net loss of about RMB 60 million. The simultaneous doubling of revenue and deepening of losses is the most prominent feature of this interim report.

Comparing with the same period last year, DOBOT reported revenue of approximately RMB 153 million in the first half of 2025, a net loss of about RMB 41 million, an adjusted net loss of roughly RMB 23 million, and a gross margin of 47%.

Despite the significantly expanded revenue scale this year, the gross margin at the product level has not declined noticeably; the profit pressure stems mainly from increased investment in the period. The company's R&D spending in the first half reached about RMB 100 million, up approximately 148% year-on-year, already approaching the full-year 2025 R&D expenditure of around RMB 115 million.

Revenue growth continues to be driven primarily by the collaborative robot core business. DOBOT previously disclosed that first-quarter revenue was approximately RMB 112 million, up about 111% year-on-year, fueled mainly by growth in collaborative robot and embodied AI robot sales.

In 2025, revenue from six-axis collaborative robots was approximately RMB 300 million, accounting for over 60% of main business revenue, while the embodied AI business contributed about RMB 20 million, or roughly 4% of the total. Therefore, the doubling of first-half revenue is not solely dependent on embodied AI; the mature collaborative robot business remains the primary pillar of support.

Commercialization of embodied AI is also accelerating. As of the end of June, DOBOT disclosed that the cumulative number of related customers had reached 231, spanning stages such as order signing, sample validation, small-batch delivery, and scaled deployment. First-half embodied AI product shipments exceeded RMB 40 million, with nearly 100 customers in industrial manufacturing.

Increased investment explains the other side of the performance. In the first half of 2025, DOBOT's R&D expenses were approximately RMB 41 million, which grew to about RMB 100 million in the same period this year. In its response to the A-share listing review, the company projected that R&D expenses would achieve a compound annual growth rate of over 40% from 2025 to 2028, with a focus in 2026 on increasing R&D investment in humanoid robots, multi-legged robots, and high-performance collaborative robots.

In July, DOBOT also collaborated with Tencent to validate its Physical AI solution on a real manufacturing production line, further exploring the synergy between models and industrial scenarios beyond the robot hardware itself.

Overseas markets remain a crucial part of DOBOT's expansion. In the first half of 2025, the company's overseas revenue was approximately RMB 80 million, accounting for more than half of total revenue in that period. The company has also previously stated that it will continue to increase coverage in key regional markets.

For a robotics company still in an expansion phase, the development of overseas channels, sales, and technical support systems also brings corresponding costs. In the first half of 2025, DOBOT's selling and distribution expenses were approximately RMB 82 million, up 32% year-on-year.

However, the widening loss cannot be entirely attributed to R&D. In its profit warning released in July, DOBOT explicitly noted that foreign exchange losses and increased share-based payments in the first half also elevated periodic expenses and losses. The company simultaneously increased its embodied AI R&D system and investment in key regional markets.

Even after excluding the effects of foreign exchange losses and share-based payments, the adjusted net loss remains in the tens of millions, indicating that operating-level investment pressure persists.

Looking ahead, the more critical point for DOBOT is whether revenue growth can continue to cover the rapidly rising R&D and marketing expenses. The stable gross margin and continued ramp-up of collaborative robots in the first half show that scale expansion has not yet been accompanied by obvious gross margin erosion, while the increase in embodied AI customers and shipments provides new signals of commercialization.

Nevertheless, transitioning from validation and small-batch delivery to sustained large-scale orders will still take time, and whether R&D investment can be further converted into revenue and profit will be a key variable in subsequent performance.