Insta360 Receives IPO Approval in Mainland China

On February 27th, the Chinese intelligent imaging brand Insta360 received official approval for its IPO application in China. Founded in Shenzhen in 2015, Insta360 has grown to become a “double champion” in the fields of panoramic cameras and action cameras. It has dominated the global panoramic camera market for six consecutive years with a market share of 67.2%. In the first half of 2024, its revenue surpassed that of the well-established American company GoPro.

Insta360 is also one of the most successful global Chinese hard-tech companies. With over 20 products covering various imaging scenarios such as daily recording, outdoor sports, travel, image creation, and video conferencing, the company has sold well in over 200 countries and regions, boasting millions of hardware users.

According to the latest prospectus, during the reporting periods (2021, 2022, 2023, and the first half of 2024), Insta360’s revenue was 13.3 billion yuan, 20.4 billion yuan, 36.4 billion yuan, and 24.3 billion yuan respectively. The net profit attributable to shareholders was 2.66 billion yuan, 4.07 billion yuan, 8.30 billion yuan, and 5.18 billion yuan respectively. The gross profit margins were 50.41%, 51.49%, 55.95%, and 53.44% for the same periods. The company achieved a compound annual revenue growth rate of 65.46% over the past three years. In terms of performance among companies listed on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board in 2023, Insta360 ranked near the top 10% in terms of revenue size.

Industry data indicates that the global market for handheld intelligent imaging devices grew from 164.3 billion yuan in 2017 to 364.7 billion yuan in 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of 14.3%. With the continuous expansion of the consumer market, it is expected that the market size will exceed 59.2 billion yuan by 2027, indicating promising future prospects.

The intelligent imaging device industry is technology-intensive, demanding high levels of technological innovation and product iteration. Public data reveals that as a technology-driven enterprise, Insta360 has continuously increased its investment in research and development. R&D expenses were 1.50 billion yuan, 2.56 billion yuan, and 4.48 billion yuan in 2021, 2022, and 2023 respectively, totaling 8.54 billion yuan, consistently accounting for over 12% of revenue. The size of the company’s R&D team has grown from 342 to 825 people, representing over 53% of the total employees. It has been reported that the company holds over 800 authorized patents, including 155 invention patents, covering core technologies such as panoramic stitching, AI image processing, and stabilization algorithms, filling gaps in related domestic technological fields. These technological advantages have positioned Insta360 as a key player in the global panoramic camera market, breaking the long-standing monopoly of European, American, Japanese, and Korean brands in this field.

Since its establishment in 2015, Insta360 has taken a series of measures to expand into overseas markets, including establishing a global market and sales team, setting up five offices worldwide, and building an online and offline sales system. Its online channels include the Insta360 official store, as well as platforms like Amazon, Tmall, and JD.com, while offline partnerships with several well-known retailers have expanded its sales network to over 60 countries globally.

Insta360 has also collaborated with renowned brands such as Leica, Google, and Apple. Since entering global Apple Stores in 2018, it has launched 11 products, becoming the only panoramic and action camera brand available in Apple Stores. In the past two years, the company has focused on expanding its presence in global offline stores, opening its first flagship store in South China in October 2023. By the end of 2024, Insta360 had over 50 offline stores worldwide.

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