Topstar 拓斯达
Dongguan's first robot-maker on ChiNext. Started in injection-molding automation in 2007, listed in 2017, and in 2025 pivoted into embodied AI — launching the Xiao Tuo wheeled humanoid with Zhipu AI inside its own injection workshops. H1 2026 robot business grew 121.6%.
Why Topstar matters
Topstar is the rare Chinese robot company that is already profitable and already shipping — not a humanoid pre-revenue story. It built its business around the injection-molding shops of the Pearl River Delta, selling the plastic-molding machine itself plus the take-out robot, CNC cell and controls around it. That vertical integration is now its moat: when it decided to put a humanoid on the factory floor in 2025, it had 15,000 existing customers and its own injection workshops as a test bed.
In September 2025 Topstar co-founded Matrix Zhituo (矩阵智拓) with Beijing LLM lab Zhipu AI (智谱), and under that JV launched Xiao Tuo (小拓) — the first humanoid robot deployed inside a Chinese injection-molding factory. In 2026 Topstar was named to the Global Embodied AI Benchmark Top 100 list.
Key Facts
| Full Name | Guangdong Topstar Technology Co., Ltd. (广东拓斯达科技股份有限公司) |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 (by Wu Fengli, 吴丰礼, with 500,000 CNY) |
| IPO | 9 Feb 2017, Shenzhen ChiNext — first Guangdong robot-maker listed on ChiNext |
| Ticker | 300607.SZ |
| Headquarters | Dongguan, Guangdong, China |
| Registered Capital | 477 million CNY |
| Founder / Chairman | Wu Fengli (吴丰礼), ex-PLA veteran, ex-Taiwanese-factory salesman |
| Embodied AI JV | Matrix Zhituo (矩阵智拓) with Zhipu AI (智谱); CEO Huang Jing (黄晶) |
| Customers | 15,000+ manufacturing customers across China |
| 2025 Robot Shipments | ~12,000 industrial robot units |
| Official Site | topstarltd.com |
Financial Snapshot
| Period | Revenue | Net Profit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 2.87B CNY | -239M CNY | Loss year on 3C demand weakness |
| FY2025 | 2.51B CNY (-12.6% YoY) | +74M CNY (back to profit) | Gross margin 28.25%; ~12,000 robots shipped |
| Q1 2026 | 538M CNY | 48M CNY | Robot & automation segment +81.2% YoY |
| H1 2026 | 1.29B CNY (+18.6% YoY) | 104M CNY (+263% YoY) | Gross margin 31.12%; robot & automation segment 707M CNY (+121.6%) |
Source: Topstar 2026 interim report (21 Aug 2026), Shenzhen Stock Exchange filings.
Product Lineup
| Line | What it is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Injection molding machines | Servo, hybrid and all-electric, 90–2,800t clamping force | Plastics manufacturing |
| Cartesian / take-out robots | 3–5 axis AC-servo linear robots | Mold extraction, sprue removal |
| 6-axis articulated robots | Industrial arms, payload 3–50 kg class | Handling, sorting, 3C assembly |
| SCARA robots | 4-axis selective-compliance arms | High-speed pick & place, screwdriving |
| Delta / parallel robots | High-speed sorting arms | Food & packaging |
| CNC machines & controllers | Machining centers plus self-developed drives | Metalworking cells |
| Xiao Tuo (小拓) — 2025 | Wheeled humanoid, 7-DOF dual-arm, Zhipu LLM on board | Injection-molding shop-floor tasks; first humanoid in a Chinese plastics plant |
| Xingzai (星仔) — 2025 | Heavy-duty quadruped robot dog | Industrial inspection, firefighting, all-terrain transport |
| Humanoid dual-arm & manipulator | Fixed-base dual-arm and single-arm humanoid-class arms | Material handling, sorting, inspection workstations |
The Xiao Tuo bet: why wheeled, not bipedal
Unlike Tesla Optimus, Figure 02 or UBTech Walker S, Topstar's first humanoid is wheeled. The engineering logic is straightforward: inside a controlled factory floor, bipedal legs add cost, energy consumption and fall risk without adding value. A wheeled base with a 7-DOF dual-arm upper body can carry the same payload, run 8 hours on a swappable battery, and be deployed next to an injection press within days. Topstar's CEO Wu Fengli has framed this as "humanoids first earn their keep inside existing factories, not on public streets."
The brain comes from Zhipu AI's GLM series via the Matrix Zhituo JV — Topstar contributes the mechanical platform, factory scenarios and 15,000-customer distribution; Zhipu contributes the vision-language-action model. This mirrors the OpenAI + Figure AI structure, but on the Chinese supply chain.
Milestones
- 2001 — Wu Fengli, a PLA veteran, starts work at a Taiwanese-owned factory in Chang'an, Dongguan.
- 2007 — Founds Topstar with 500,000 CNY, initially selling injection-molding take-out robots.
- 2015 — Self-developed Cartesian robots begin exporting to Southeast Asia, Europe and South America.
- 9 Feb 2017 — IPO on Shenzhen ChiNext (300607.SZ); first Guangdong robot-maker listed on ChiNext.
- 2024 — Launches AI flexible sorting workstation; begins exploring embodied-AI scenarios.
- 2025 — Robot shipments reach ~12,000 units; revenue 2.51B CNY, returns to profit (74M CNY).
- Sep 2025 — Global Open Day: co-founds Matrix Zhituo with Zhipu AI; launches Xiao Tuo wheeled humanoid — first humanoid deployed in a Chinese injection-molding workshop.
- 2026 H1 — Revenue 1.29B CNY (+18.6%), net profit 104M CNY (+263%); robot & automation segment +121.6% to 707M CNY.
- 2026 — Named to Global Embodied AI Benchmark Top 100.
How Topstar compares
| Company | 2025 Revenue | Humanoid bet | Vertical edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topstar (300607) | 2.51B CNY | Xiao Tuo wheeled humanoid via Zhipu AI JV | Owns injection-molding machines; 15k customers |
| Estun (002747) | ~3.5B CNY | Codroid / Estun humanoid R&D | Acquired TRIO Motion, Dorenn, Clemotion |
| Siasun (688017) | ~3.0B CNY | Siasun humanoid demos | Shenyang Institute of Automation heritage |
| ABB / FANUC / Yaskawa | $3–4B robot division | No humanoid product yet | Global service network, 30+ year installed base |
Topstar is not the largest Chinese industrial-robot maker by revenue — Estun and Siasun are bigger. Its edge is vertical integration in plastics/3C and a profitable, cash-generating robot business that funds the humanoid bet without a capital raise.
Competitive position
Against ABB, FANUC and Yaskawa, Topstar prices its articulated robots 40–60% lower and offers same-week integration in the Pearl River Delta — a service no Japanese or European vendor can match for small-batch 3C and plastics shops. Against domestic peers (Estun, Siasun, Inovance, Effort), Topstar is differentiated by the injection-molding machine itself: it is the only Chinese robot maker that also sells the press the robot tends. That "machine + robot + CNC + controls" bundle is why its industrial-robot segment grew 121.6% in H1 2026 while 3C customers expanded orders.
Risks & watchpoints
- 3C cyclicality — Topstar's robot growth is tightly tied to 3C (consumer electronics) capex; a slowdown hits orders quickly.
- Humanoid revenue is still small — Xiao Tuo and Xingzai are pilot deployments, not material revenue yet. The H1 2026 profit jump is from industrial robots, not humanoids.
- Competition from Inovance / Efort — Inovance (300124) is eating into the domestic servo-and-robot stack from the motion-control side.
- Wheel vs biped — If the market converges on bipedal humanoids for factories, Topstar's wheeled-first bet may need a hardware rebuild.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Topstar (拓斯达) make?
Topstar builds industrial six-axis and SCARA robots, injection-molding machines (90–2,800t), CNC machines, and since 2025 the Xiao Tuo wheeled humanoid and Xingzai quadruped built with Zhipu AI. It shipped about 12,000 industrial robot units in 2025.
Is Topstar a Chinese humanoid robot company?
Yes, but via a JV. In September 2025 Topstar and Zhipu AI formed Matrix Zhituo (矩阵智拓), which launched the Xiao Tuo (小拓) wheeled humanoid — the first humanoid deployed in a Chinese injection-molding workshop. Topstar also sells the Xingzai (星仔) heavy-duty quadruped for inspection and firefighting.
Who founded Topstar?
Wu Fengli (吴丰礼), a PLA veteran who started at a Taiwanese-owned Dongguan factory in 2001 and founded Topstar in 2007 with 500,000 CNY. He took the company public on the Shenzhen ChiNext board on 9 February 2017 — the first Guangdong robot-maker listed on ChiNext.
How big is Topstar financially?
Full-year 2025 revenue was 2.51 billion CNY with net profit of 74 million CNY. H1 2026 revenue hit 1.29 billion CNY (+18.6% YoY) and net profit 104 million CNY (+263%). The industrial-robot & automation segment alone grew 121.6% to 707 million CNY in H1 2026.
How does Topstar compare with Estun, Siasun or ABB?
Topstar is smaller than Estun (002747.SZ) and Siasun (688017.SH) in pure robot revenue, but vertically unique: it builds its own injection-molding machines, which is exactly where its 15,000 factory customers buy robots. Against ABB/FANUC it competes on price (40–60% lower), local integration speed, and 3C/plastics verticals in the Pearl River Delta.
Is Xiao Tuo a full humanoid or a wheeled robot?
Xiao Tuo is a wheeled humanoid (轮式人形) with a 7-DOF dual-arm upper body — not a biped. Topstar's logic is that bipedal legs are unnecessary inside a controlled factory floor, so the wheeled base is cheaper, safer and faster to production.