Viomi Goes Public on the Nasdaq, Second U.S. IPO in the Xiaomi Ecosystem

Viomi, a smart home appliances company in the Xiaomi ecosystem, started trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Sept. 25 under the ticker symbol VIOT. Viomi is the second company to go public in the U.S. from the Xiaomi ecosystem (the first being Huami which was listed on the NYSE starting Feb. 2018).

Viomi is looking to raise $102.6 million from its 11.4 million shares priced at $9 per American Depositary Receipts, valuing the company at $811.8 million. The money raised will be used for R&D, selling and marketing initiatives, and potential investments, according to its prospectus filed last month.

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Founded in May 2014 by Chen Xiaoping, Viomi specializes in Internet of things (IoT) home appliances such as water purifiers, dish washers, and air purifiers. According to its prospectus, the three pillars of its business model is “IoT-enabled smart home products, complementary consumable products, value-added business ecosystem, and a factory-to-consumer new retail sales strategy.”

Viomi reported revenues of 1.04 billion yuan ($15.13 million) for the first half of 2018, a year-on-year increase of 284.4 percent. Its profits also increased by 271.5 percent to 73.03 million yuan for the same period. Most of its products were sold to Xiaomi, with Xiaomi sales taking up 84.7 percent and 62.6 percent of Viomi revenue in 2017 and the first half of 2018.

Chen Xiaoping—Viomi’s founder, CEO and chairman, worked at the Chinese electrical appliances company, Media Group, for 15 years before starting Viomi. After the IPO, Chen holds majority shares in Viomi at 42.5 percent; other shareholders include Shunwei Talent Limited and Xiaomi at 17.1 percent and 16.3 percent respectively, as well as Sequoia Capital China Venture at 5.2 percent.

In a Weibo post by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, Lei congratulated Chen for Viomi’s IPO and his leadership which guided the design of the Mi Water Purifier amongst other products, and expressed his gratitude towards all Xiaomi fans for their support. Lei also mentioned Huami, the first company to go public in the U.S. from the Xiaomi ecosystem.

Huami is currently trading at $10.75, below its offering price of $11 in February, under the symbol HMI on the NYSE. After one day of trading, the VIOT stock closed at $9.08, an increase of 0.89 percent from its starting price.