After 20 years of entrepreneurship and one year as CEO, I've increased the company's profits by 446%.

As long as conditions permit every day, Wu Fengli, the chairman and CEO of TopsSTAR, will put on his running shoes and run 10 kilometers. He has maintained this habit for more than a decade.

“At first, it was for weight loss, and later it became a way to ‘detach’ myself,” Wu Fengli told China Entrepreneur. “When I exercise, I can integrate with the outside world. I can feel the unique charm of each season. More importantly, in a state of mental relaxation, I can step away from the specific work and engage in abstract thinking: ‘Find a balance between speed and slowness, between opportunities and crises, and between impulsiveness and calmness.’”

This sense of balance might be Wu Fengli's approach to the current AI wave. Since its establishment in 2007 and its listing on the ChiNext Board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2017 as the “first robot stock in Guangdong,” TopsSTAR has developed four core intelligent equipment, including embodied intelligence, industrial robots, CNC machine tools, and injection molding machines. It has become a full - stack industrial robot enterprise mastering three core technologies: control, servo, and vision, with a cumulative shipment of over 150,000 units. As of the close on March 23, its market value was 1.1643 billion yuan.

In 2023, in the face of the wave of AI large models, Wu Fengli led TopsSTAR to transform. It divested its early core business, the intelligent energy and environmental management system business (referred to as the “green energy business”), developed a new - generation motion controller platform that can be deeply integrated with AI, and launched an industrial vertical domain model and the X5 robot control platform.

In August 2024, Wu Fengli, as the chairman of TopsSTAR, resumed his position as CEO. “In the past, the competition was not fierce, and there was room for flexible decision - making. But now, with the intensifying involution in the industry and the arrival of the AI era, the traditional business has reached a crossroads. Standing still will only lead to a dead end,” Wu Fengli believes. “Choosing how to turn around is the core value of the top decision - maker.”

The results of the transformation began to accelerate in 2025. In September 2025, TopsSTAR launched its first humanoid - like robot, “Xiaotuo,” which is the world's first embodied intelligent robot applied in the injection molding industry.

Now, standing at the window of the explosion of embodied intelligence, Wu Fengli has taken another crucial step. In January 2026, TopsSTAR officially submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, aiming for the “A + H” dual - platform pattern. Wu Fengli intends to use the Hong Kong listing to broaden international financing channels and integrate into the global industrial system.

In 2025, TopsSTAR is expected to have a net profit attributable to the parent company of 49.34 million yuan, a year - on - year increase of 446.75%, achieving a turnaround from loss to profit. Secondly, its overseas sales revenue accounts for 25% of the total revenue, and its sales network covers more than 50 countries. It has become a supplier to well - known enterprises such as Biel Crystal, Luxshare Precision, Foxconn, Samsung, Corning, and CATL.

“Listing in Hong Kong is not only for financing but also a crucial step in connecting with international capital and rules,” Wu Fengli said. He wants to use the international capital platform to accelerate technological iteration and global penetration in this wave of intelligentization.

The following is the transcript of the exclusive interview with Wu Fengli (with some deletions):

Making Tough Decisions

China Entrepreneur: In 2025, you launched the humanoid - like robot “Xiaotuo.” When did you have the idea of entering the humanoid robot field? What prompted you to make the decision to go all - in?

Wu Fengli: Using the term “go all - in” might not be accurate. Internally, we prefer to call it “finding the right scenarios, achieving incremental results along the way, and forming a small closed - loop.”

Since the start of the business, our business expansion has not been driven by chasing trends but by the actual needs of customers. The same is true for entering the field of embodied intelligence. In industries such as injection molding and 3C, where we have deep roots, there are many scenarios for flexible assembly and complex sorting, which are excellent entry points for humanoid robots.

So our strategy is “scenario - driven and incremental progress.” We don't aim to create a universal humanoid robot in one go. Instead, we first identify one or two scenarios where the robot can truly create value, let the robot operate in specific environments to solve practical problems for customers, and continuously iterate in the process.

The new business should form its own commercial closed - loop rather than relying on the headquarters for support. At the same time, TopsSTAR has injection molding equipment, CNC machine tools, and other businesses that can bring stable revenue. By making money while developing, we can move forward more steadily, last longer, and be more sustainable.

China Entrepreneur: In recent years, TopsSTAR has implemented the strategy of “focusing on products and shrinking projects” and actively reduced the intelligent energy system business. This active “streamlining” brought considerable performance pressure at that time. Was this “subtraction” done for the sake of embodied intelligence?

Wu Fengli: “Shrinking projects” did bring significant performance pressure at that time, but this was not a strategic wavering. It was an inevitable choice based on our return to the essence of the manufacturing industry and a long - term judgment of the future competitive landscape.

The intelligent energy and environmental management system business is characterized by high - value orders and the potential to form a large - scale business. However, on the other hand, it has a low degree of standardization, limited gross profit margins, and long delivery cycles, which can have an adverse impact on the company's net profit and cash flow. Since 2023, we have gradually reduced the scale of the intelligent energy and environmental management system business. Now, we have achieved the initial divestment, and the company's business structure has become healthier, and its operating quality has significantly improved. According to our 2025 annual performance forecast, the net profit attributable to the shareholders of the listed company in 2025 is expected to be between 60 million and 80 million yuan, achieving a turnaround from loss to profit.

While shrinking projects, we focused our resources on three product lines: industrial robots, injection molding machines, and CNC machine tools. The biggest difference between “products” and “projects” is that products are universal and standardized and can serve various industries through the spill - over effect of core technologies.

The essence of “streamlining” is strategic focus. By going through the painful period of transformation, we sacrificed short - term scale figures in exchange for long - term core competitiveness. When the external environment improves and industrial upgrading accelerates, a TopsSTAR with a healthier business structure, stronger technological barriers, and more stable profitability will be in a more favorable starting position.

China Entrepreneur: Did you start thinking about transforming from industrial robots to humanoid robots after the explosion of large models? Or did you have this idea before?

Wu Fengli: Strictly speaking, we thought about it before but didn't take action until the arrival of AI. Because once we make the choice, we need to invest, but as a listed company, we don't support unlimited investment and don't have unlimited resources for a “saturation attack.”

So we need to balance the investment limit, which is also one of the reasons for me to get involved personally. Only by getting involved myself can I maintain a sense of balance.

China Entrepreneur: What challenges did you encounter during the R & D process? Did your previous experience in making industrial robots provide any support?

Wu Fengli: Our past experience will definitely be of great value in the future, especially in supply chain management, standardized and large - scale operations, cost control, and manufacturing capabilities, which will bring us significant advantages.

However, currently, we are still in the proof - of - concept and scenario - validation stage, and these advantages have not yet been fully realized. Just like companies with a manufacturing background like Huawei, they may not be the fastest at the beginning, but they can usually stay in the game and go further in the long run. The same is true for us. We have never been an explosive - growth company. In the past, we didn't even invest in advertising and promotion. The core reason why we have been able to develop steadily is our long - term accumulation.

China Entrepreneur: “Xiaotuo” uses a wheeled design instead of bipedal design. What kind of scenario considerations are behind this? In your opinion, what should be the core of “humanoid” robots in industrial scenarios?

Wu Fengli: All our considerations are based on real industrial scenarios. In the past 20 years, we have served more than 15,000 enterprises and reached 200,000 customers. Through a large number of scenario investigations and practical feedback, we have deeply realized that the requirements of industrial scenarios for robots need to balance multiple factors such as efficiency, stability, and cost, which led us to choose the wheeled design in the end.

Compared with the bipedal form, the wheeled design is more in line with industrial logic in many aspects: it has higher movement efficiency and longer battery life; it has a natural advantage in stability as it is statically stable, will not fall, and doesn't need to consider bipedal balance; it also has obvious advantages in cost control. Most industrial floors are relatively flat, which further enhances the applicability and practicality of the wheeled design.

China Entrepreneur: One of the biggest problems plaguing the robot industry is data. You have a large number of manufacturing customers. Does this bring an advantage to data collection? What are the challenges in your current data collection?

Wu Fengli: We serve a large number of manufacturing customers and cover a wide range of scenarios. The large number of scenarios and customer samples does help us in data collection and model iteration. The more real the scenarios and the richer the data, the smarter the robot will be, and it can better serve our (manufacturing) customers and continuously iterate and upgrade in our home field.

However, we also face significant challenges: First, manufacturing scenarios are fragmented and non - standardized, making it difficult to standardize data; second, high - quality labeled data is scarce. How to efficiently and cost - effectively convert on - site data into usable training data is also a common problem in the industry.

China Entrepreneur: Do you collect data by putting robots in customers' factories? Many companies are restricted by customer data privacy and find it difficult to enter factories. How do you manage to do it?

Wu Fengli: Yes, this is what I call value exchange. If customers give you data, what benefits can you bring to them? This is what we have been trying to figure out. It's a difficult path, but there has to be a pioneer. Data is very valuable in model and product iteration.

China Entrepreneur: What challenges are there between the laboratory stage and future large - scale mass production?

Wu Fengli: TopsSTAR's products do not simply move from the laboratory to the market but grow from the market. Wheeled robots and quadruped robots are developed based on specific scenarios and clear customer needs. We first define the product and then polish the technology. The customers teach us what the product should be like and what effects it should achieve. Our product - development logic has always been based on the real needs, core pain points, and actual scenarios of customers to define what to do and how to do it.

China Entrepreneur: There is a debate about the technology or direction of embodied large models. One approach is to start from vertical fields, break through one scenario, and then gradually expand to other scenarios; the other is to first create a large and comprehensive general - purpose large model that can handle all things. How do you evaluate these two approaches?

Wu Fengli: If you want to build a platform - type company, the latter is the core goal. But if you are a startup, I think you must fully evaluate your “ammunition,” that is, whether your funds and resources can support you until you achieve results.

Entrepreneurship should always start with a “small incision,” focusing on “one - meter - wide and one - kilometer - deep.” The core is to solve specific pain points and problems of customers. We started by solving a very specific pain point: first identify the problem, then define the product, then define the technology, and then let customers try it out. We iterate and optimize based on customer feedback, and the whole process is very precise.

Now many entrepreneurs don't even know who their customers are. In fact, they should go back to two basic questions: First, who are your customers? Second, what problems of customers can you solve? If you can't answer these two questions clearly, the entrepreneurial path will be extremely difficult.

Getting Involved Personally

China Entrepreneur: Developing models and humanoid robots requires a large amount of investment. As a listed company, did you face any doubts or objections from shareholders at that time? How did you deal with them?

Wu Fengli: This was indeed a difficult choice. As a listed company, we face quarterly financial report pressure, which is also the reason for our divestment of the “green energy” business: First, the business was not well - matched, and we needed to focus on productization; second, resources, especially talent, were limited, and we had to concentrate our investment on areas that could truly build core competitiveness.

When making this decision, it felt like “cutting off one's own wrist.” But after that, it was relatively easier to decide to invest in the core technology vertical model. Of course, difficulties still remained. After all, the robot field is not easy to make a profit in. It is not only talent - and capital - intensive but also has a low return on investment and a long cycle. But I always believe that technological innovation is the direction, focusing on the main business is the core, and long - termism is the foundation. By firmly grasping these three points, we can have the determination and stop worrying about short - term gains and losses or the performance of a single quarter or year in the financial report.

However, we also need to make basic plans for the annual shipment volume according to market expectations.

China Entrepreneur: What was the biggest doubt raised by shareholders or senior executives at that time?

Wu Fengli: The biggest doubt was my decision to divest the “green energy” business. In everyone's view, this business, although fluctuating, could bring stable revenue. But I chose to reinvest resources in uncertain fields such as vertical models and artificial intelligence, which seemed to show insufficient attention to the green energy business with certain profitability.

I made this decision because I judged that the traditional green energy business would disperse our energy and resources. Only by firmly focusing on the core track can we build long - term competitiveness. It was this difference in concepts that once led to significant doubts about me within the company and among some shareholders.

This is the difficulty of long - termism, but also its correctness. We should think in the long - term rather than focus on short - term gains.

China Entrepreneur: When did this concept form?

Wu Fengli: The twists and turns of more than 20 years of entrepreneurship have brought me profound insights. Except for the year of divesting the business in 2024, we have achieved profitability every year since the first day of our business.

But I gradually realized that some things we thought were the optimal solutions at the moment were just short - term expedients in the long run. If we always pursue the short - term optimal solution, we may ignore the long - term development goals. That's why I started to view corporate development from a more long - term perspective.

In August 2024, I resumed my position as the company's CEO. Before that, I had been serving as the chairman. In that year, a question was haunting me: Should we operate a long - lasting enterprise or a company that only focuses on making money?

In the past, we were obsessed with making a profit every month and every year. Although we never stopped technological innovation, could the company not pursue a “wide but shallow” path but a “narrow but deep” one? In essence, this is a strategic choice. I thought about this question for a long time and finally clarified the direction: We can only be a product - type company, not a project - type company. To achieve this, we must make strategic decisions and be clear about what to stick to and what to give up.

China Entrepreneur: Did you communicate with others when you decided to resume the position of CEO? Or did you make the decision on your own?

Wu Fengli: I believe that behind such strategic choices is