Insta360 Founder Expresses Frustration Over Delayed IPO Approval

On August 15th, Liu Jingkang, the founder of Chinese sports camera brand Insta360, complained on social media that the company had not received approval for its IPO application since the on-site verification in 2022. During this period, he also did not receive any regulatory discouragement and asked the relevant departments for fair characterization.

Liu complained: “[Insta360] has good performance. The company has grown four times during the 4 years since it filed the IPO application. In 2017, it was only 1/40 the size of the industry leader GoPro, and in H1 this year, it has surpassed GoPro. Not counting this year’s growth, last year’s performance was about the top 5% of the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and the Growth Enterprise Market… it has created 400 million US dollars in export earnings in one year; it has paid nine-digit taxes locally in one year… Fast Company has twice selected it as the world’s most innovative company… Since the on-site inspection in 2022, we have not received any regulatory discouragement for the IPO application. I don’t ask for approval, I only ask for fair characterization. Don’t let the 2000 post-90s who really want to make the world recognize China’s intelligent manufacturing and technological rise feel heartbroken.”

Insta360 was founded in 2015 and is a globally renowned intelligent imaging brand based on panoramic technology. Insta360 started with VR and panoramic cameras, entered the sports camera market in 2017, and currently has two product lines, consumer and professional, covering sports cameras, 360/3D cameras, professional VR cameras. Its representative products include ONE R, ONE, ONE X, GO, etc.

In July 2020, it was reported that Insta360 had begun to receive guidance from CITIC Securities in early June, intending to list on China’s A-share market. As early as March 2019, Bloomberg reported that Insta360 would IPO no later than 2020, and the listing location was the upcoming Sci-Tech Innovation Board or the existing Growth Enterprise Market in Shenzhen.

Before the IPO, the top three institutional investors of Insta360 were IDG Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Xunlei; IDG Capital partner Tong Chen, Qiming Venture Partners partner Ye Guantai served as directors, and Fengrui Capital founding partner Li Feng served as an independent director.

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