China-based artificial intelligence and robotics technology developer CloudMinds has filed for a $500m initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange, setting up telecoms conglomerate SoftBank for an exit.
The company intends to issue American Depositary Shares and list under the ticker symbol CMDS, though it has not yet set a price range or determined how much stock it will release.
CloudMinds operates a cloud-based platform capable of simultaneously connecting to millions of robots – which it manufactures and sells or leases to clients –, enabling robotic systems to tap into functionality such as computer vision and natural language processing.
The company expects the technology to have applications in areas such as retail, hospitals, banks, shopping centres and security services as well as smart cities and product quality control.
Proceeds from the proposed offering have been allocated to research and development efforts, infrastructure, ecosystem and production capacity buildout, sales and marketing activities and working capital.
SoftBank Vision Fund, the investment vehicle managed by SoftBank, participated in a $300m series B round in March 2019 that also included Anji Boye Investment Partnership, Lishui Boan Investment, Lishui Bojiang Furui Investment amd Lishui Bojiang Chuangrui Investment.
Chinalife Nova Investments, Fantino Investments, White Gloss, Matrix Partners China, Fantino Investments, Edintown Investments, Magic Flower Culture Communication and HICREAT Group also took part in the round, according to CloudMinds’ prospectus.
Unspecified investors supplied $100m in series A funding in 2017, after SoftBank and contract manufacturer Foxconn had invested $28m in seed capital the previous year. CloudMinds also obtained $3m in an angel round in 2015.
SoftBank is currently the largest shareholder in CloudMinds, owning a 34.6% stake. Chairman and chief executive William Xiao-Qing Huang owns 17.4% through his family office, 2000 Huang Family.
Other notable shareholders include Anji Boye Investment Partnership (9.5%), KIT Mobility (7.6%) and Keytone Ventures (5.1%).
Citigroup, JP Morgan and UBS Investment Bank have been appointed underwriters of the proposed offering.
