Why has Shanghai given birth to the first AI energy storage company worth over 100 billion?

On April 16, with the gong sounding, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange welcomed a new enterprise that had been established for only 3 years and 11 months - Sigen New Energy (06656.HK). On that day, its closing price was HK$659.5, and its total market value exceeded HK$162.7 billion, making it the "first stock in AI energy storage".

This enterprise, with its headquarters in Pudong, Shanghai, refreshed the fastest listing record of Chinese enterprises in the Hong Kong stock IPO from its registration in May 2022 to its listing on the capital market.

Under the heat of the capital carnival, a more in - depth question is in front of us: Why can Shanghai produce such a hard - tech giant worth hundreds of billions that rewrites the global photovoltaic energy storage industry pattern?

Enterprise Genes: Breakthrough with "AI + Energy Storage"

Xu Yingtong, the founder of Sigen New Energy, worked at Huawei for 23 years. He once served as the president of Huawei's intelligent photovoltaic business, leading the team to make the photovoltaic inverter rank first in global shipments. Then he served as the president of Huawei's Ascend AI computing business. Zhang Xianmiao, the president of the company, also comes from Huawei and has 17 years of full - cycle work experience in the photovoltaic industry.

To some extent, Sigen New Energy's successful listing lies in the victory of its development route. While the vast majority of domestic energy storage enterprises are still competing in production capacity, engaging in price involution, and vying for low - end market shares, Sigen New Energy targeted the differentiated track of "AI - native" from the very beginning, and embarked on a development path completely different from the industry norm.

The core competitiveness of Sigen New Energy focuses on the "five - in - one" super - integrated solution of its flagship product, SigenStor. This solution integrates five core components, namely the photovoltaic inverter, energy storage converter, energy storage battery, DC charging module, and energy management system, into a standardized and stackable module. On - site installation only requires splicing like building blocks, and the installation and debugging time of the whole set of equipment is directly compressed to 15 minutes.

In the mainstream European and American markets with high labor costs, the extremely simple installation process directly breaks through the core threshold for channel implementation, and has become the core weapon for Sigen New Energy to sweep the overseas market.

From 2023 to 2025, the sales revenue of its SigenStor product accounted for 96.4%, 90.6%, and 92.9% of the company's total revenue respectively, contributing more than 90% of the revenue for three consecutive years. In terms of shipments, in 2024, Sigen ranked first in the global shipments of stackable distributed photovoltaic energy storage all - in - one solutions with a market share of 28.6%.

Compared with traditional energy storage manufacturers, Sigen New Energy embeds intelligent algorithms into the system's underlying layer throughout the entire process from product R & D, production and manufacturing to terminal operation, achieving full - link AI - native adaptation.

Industry insiders analyzed that Sigen New Energy chose a hardware - software integrated architecture of high - voltage systems and intelligent energy management software in its technical path, avoiding the fierce competition in the low - end assembly red ocean, and building a brand moat with a digital experience. In terms of business model, it accurately targeted the global distributor and installer network, enabling rapid expansion with high gross profit.

A partner of a dual - currency fund analyzed to a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Daily that when looking at energy storage now, the key is no longer who has battery cells, but who has the ability to define the system. "Sigen wrote AI into its genes from the very beginning, which shows that the founder has a long - term vision. Hillhouse's bold investment of 500 million in the angel round is essentially a bet on an industrial cognitive gap."

"It is by no means accidental that Shanghai can produce a new energy storage giant worth over HK$100 billion. It is due to the triple advantages of industrial ecosystem, capital leverage, and talent density." Dong Peng, a senior enterprise management expert and senior consultant, analyzed and told a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Daily.

In the view of Gao Chengyuan, the dean of the Tiaoyuan Influence Research Institute, more dark horses will definitely emerge in the future energy storage track, but the window period is narrowing. To replicate Sigen's development path, enterprises must have four core capabilities: First, the ultimate product innovation ability. Instead of making follow - up improvements, they should redefine the product form like Sigen to solve the real pain points in the industry. Second, the global channel and service ability. Energy storage is a business that highly relies on channels and services. Whether an enterprise can establish a local installer network and after - sales system overseas determines how far it can go. Third, the in - depth integration ability of AI and energy systems. The "AI in All" strategy proposed by Sigen essentially improves users' benefits through intelligent scheduling, which is the focus of competition for the next - generation energy storage products. Fourth, the supply chain and manufacturing efficiency. Building one of the world's largest single - body distributed energy storage factories in Nantong with an annual production capacity of over 300,000 units, this heavy - asset investment ability is also a barrier.

However, Gao Chengyuan also said that it should be noted that as the industry matures, the valuation logic of capital for energy storage enterprises has shifted from "looking at growth rate" to "looking at profit quality", and the threshold for the emergence of future dark horses will only be higher.

Industrial Resources: High - end Talents Create Two - way Resonance

Xu Yingtong, the founder of Sigen New Energy, once publicly stated that Sigen New Energy is engaged in a global business, and what it needs are "π - shaped compound talents" who understand both hardcore technology and global market operation.

In fact, Sigen New Energy's cross - border compound innovation of "power electronics hardware + AI algorithm + software system" has extremely high requirements for urban industrial supporting facilities. For the enterprise, it needs top - notch AI algorithm talents, mature software development capabilities, and global brand operation and channel management experience.

In terms of industry talents, Shanghai happens to have the most complete integrated circuit industrial cluster and the densest high - end AI talent reserve in the country, and at the same time, it has gathered the top domestic R & D resources in power electronics. Sigen New Energy located its global headquarters in Jinqiao, Pudong, Shanghai, and simultaneously laid out a global marketing center in Qiantan and intelligent manufacturing bases in Lingang and Nantong, forming a full - industrial - chain closed - loop of "R & D headquarters + brand marketing + large - scale manufacturing".

At the same time, Shanghai is home to top domestic universities such as Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Fudan University, and Tongji University. In core fields such as power electronics, artificial intelligence, and energy storage materials, they have the ability to continuously output scientific research results and talents. The in - depth collaborative ecosystem of industry - university - research provides a continuous talent reserve for hard - tech enterprises like Sigen.

In terms of market operation, Sigen New Energy's products are benchmarked against the overseas market throughout the process, and it needs to build local operation, sales, and service teams in core regions such as Australia and Europe. As the city with the most concentrated regional headquarters of multinational companies in China, Shanghai has a large number of people with a global perspective and overseas operation experience.

This compound industrial ecosystem of "advanced manufacturing + modern services" and "hardware R & D + algorithm software" is the unique core competitiveness of Shanghai as a global city.

Previously, in July 2025, Pudong New Area signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Sigen New Energy. In Jinqiao, Pudong, Sigen New Energy's core production line completed the production of the first batch of products in only 18 days and achieved full production of the production line in 38 days, refreshing the fastest production and landing record of enterprises in the Pudong area. This efficient government - enterprise collaboration ability enables start - up enterprises to quickly achieve large - scale mass production after product finalization and accurately seize the outbreak window period of the overseas market.

Before Sigen New Energy's listing, its business had covered 85 countries and regions around the world, with 172 global distributors in cooperation and over 17,600 registered cooperative installers. In 2025, the combined revenue of the company's Asia - Pacific and European regions accounted for over 91%, among which the revenue from the single Australian market alone accounted for 42.6%.

Capital Increase: Shanghai's Venture Capital Creates a Hard - Tech Investment Model

The capital story of Sigen New Energy began in May 2022 when the company was established.

A reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Daily noticed that in the company's early financing process, the names of Shanghai - based capital had already appeared on the list of investors.

According to the industrial and commercial information from Science and Technology Innovation Daily - Qichacha APP, in the seed - round financing completed in June 2022, Shanghai Yusong Enterprise Management Partnership (Limited Partnership) and others invested a total of 5 million yuan, which was also the first external financing obtained by Sigen New Energy.

In the Series B and Series B+ financings of Sigen New Energy, institutions such as Guoke BOE, Shanghai Xingxu Fund, Qianzhusong, and Tiantang Silicon Valley were introduced. Among them, Yongkang Xingxu Yaoneng Venture Capital Partnership (Limited Partnership) and its affiliated Yongkang Xingxu New Energy Technology Partnership (Limited Partnership) invested a total of 70 million yuan. The management of these two funds is Shanghai Xingxu Fund, a typical Shanghai - based investment institution.

It is worth mentioning that the cornerstone investors in Sigen New Energy's IPO stage included top - tier institutions in the global asset management circle: Temasek, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, UBS Asset Management, BNP Paribas Asset Management, Baring, Orix, CPE Yuanfeng, Gaoyi Asset, Jinglin Capital, Boyu Capital, Fullgoal Fund, Pacific Insurance, and 19 other top - tier domestic and overseas institutions, with a total subscription amount of HK$2.192 billion.

The collective heavy investment of global capital directly pushed the company onto the stage of a market value of hundreds of billions. This is not only the recognition of a start - up enterprise by the capital market, but also a collective vote of global capital on the agglomeration ability and asset pricing ability of Shanghai as an international financial center.

The success of Sigen New Energy is not an isolated case. In the week of its listing, two other hard - tech enterprises in Shanghai accelerated their IPO processes: Lightelligence is sprinting to become the "first stock in AI silicon - photonics chips", and XREAL is aiming to be the "first stock in smart glasses". This wave of intensive listings of hard - tech enterprises reflects the effectiveness brought about by Pudong's promotion of a virtuous cycle of "science and technology - industry - capital".

The story of Sigen New Energy also proves that Shanghai continuously provides a replicable "Shanghai solution" for the global development of Chinese hard - tech enterprises.

Meanwhile, Shanghai continues to increase policy support for hard - tech and new energy industries. In 2025, Shanghai officially released the Work Plan for the Demonstration and Leading Innovation and Development of New - Type Energy Storage in Shanghai, clearly proposing to build a new - type energy storage industrial cluster worth hundreds of billions. Through practical policy support such as electricity - degree rewards and capacity compensation, it guides social capital to flow into the hardcore technology track. On the other hand, the strategic cooperation signed between Pudong New Area and Sigen provides comprehensive supporting support in terms of land supply, talent settlement, and tax incentives.

This dual - wheel drive model of "government guidance + market leadership" enables more "Sigen New Energies" to break through the challenges of long - term technology investment and slow short - term returns.

Yuan Shuai, the deputy director of the investment department of the China Urban Development Research Institute, analyzed and told a reporter from Science and Technology Innovation Daily that as the intersection of domestic and international capital, Shanghai has gathered a large number of professional investment institutions. These institutions can not only provide sufficient financial support for start - up enterprises, but also, with their long - term accumulated industrial resources and operation experience, provide all - around empowerment for enterprises in strategic planning, compliance governance, resource docking, etc., helping enterprises avoid detours in the early stage of development and quickly establish market competitive advantages.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Science and Technology Innovation Daily", written by Wang Chufan and Li Yu, and published by 36Kr with authorization.