AVIC Innovation Robotics (Xi'an) Files IPO Prospectus: Dual Product Lines in Smart Rehabilitation and Civil-Military Integration

He Chen’s venture into rehabilitation medical robotics was, to some extent, a matter of serendipity.

In 2015, He Chen, then an employee of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), reached a turning point in his career. His exoskeleton robot project took first place in AVIC’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Following an assessment that highlighted the technological leadership and promising market prospects of the project, AVIC planned to develop it into a “Three Benchmarks” model: a benchmark for “mass entrepreneurship and innovation,” a benchmark for mixed-ownership reform, and a benchmark for military-civilian integration, specifically in the civilian application of military technology and the industrialization of aviation technology.

Commissioned with the mission of establishing “three benchmarks,” He Chen conducted a two-year survey of China’s robotics market. After evaluating sectors including industrial robots, service robots, and medical robots, He Chen’s team ultimately selected the niche segment of smart rehabilitation robots.

“China’s rehabilitation industry started late and has a relatively weak overall foundation.” According to research conducted by He Chen’s team, mid- to low-end products account for as high as 70% of the rehabilitation equipment procurement lists at many hospitals. “In 2016, many hospitals’ rehabilitation offerings were still limited to basic tools such as wooden staircases and physical therapy (PT) beds,” recalled He Chen.

From a technical perspective, the rehabilitation industry urgently needs to upgrade toward “one-to-many” and “full-process” precision rehabilitation equipment, providing effective tools to reduce disability rates from conditions such as stroke in China and improve the quality of life for patients with disabilities or partial disabilities. Fortunately, driven by advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, bioelectronics, and robotic simulation, the rehabilitation sector is undergoing a transformation, with new business formats, services, and models beginning to emerge. In He Chen’s view, rehabilitation, as a scientific discipline, is making significant strides toward intelligentization and data-driven practices.

In August 2017, AVIC Chuangshi was established, becoming the first mixed-ownership company specially approved by Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) to focus on the medical device sector. Committed to civil-military integration, the company aims to commercialize and industrialize aviation technologies, developing intelligent robotic products in the fields of advanced medical robots, service robots, and military robots. It provides customers with comprehensive smart rehabilitation solutions that integrate software and hardware across the entire process and full lifecycle.

AVIC Chuangshi is a technology-driven enterprise. After obtaining his Ph.D. in Automation from Northwestern Polytechnical University, General Manager He Chen joined the AVIC Xi’an Flight Automatic Control Research Institute (Institute 618), where he participated in the research and development of multiple key aircraft models.

During the early stages of the startup, colleagues from the 618 Institute with technical backgrounds, including He Chen and Ma Rui, spearheaded product research, laying the technological foundation for subsequent product development. As the product matured, talents from universities such as Tsinghua University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Xi’an Jiaotong University, along with industry elites from companies like Tencent and Honeywell, gradually joined the team. Furthermore, AVIC Chuangshi has assembled a rehabilitation expert team primarily composed of academicians from China and abroad, ensuring the medical professionalism of its products.

“Core underlying technologies determine the value ceiling of application-oriented products. For rehabilitation products to achieve intelligent upgrades, strengthening foundational technologies is the only viable path to breaking through industry bottlenecks.” Guided by this clear understanding, AVIC Chuangshi devoted itself entirely to robotics technology and product R&D over the following two years.

In He Chen’s view, although aircraft development and the commercialization of robots differ significantly in terms of customer understanding, application scenarios, and performance requirements, the underlying software and hardware technologies of the two are interconnected. “The team’s experience in aerospace R&D provided substantial assistance to subsequent robot development.”

Leveraging its robust background in aviation technology, AVIC Chuangshi “"Source" (precise assessment based on multi-sensor fusion), "Core" (precise training based on multimodal control technology), "Cloud" (based onSmart Cloud"Platform software for full-cycle rehabilitation management and services," "Quality" (high-safety, high-quality assurance system based on military-grade standards)A complete R&D and production system has been built around four core technologies.

Currently,AVIC Chuangshi has established three joint R&D centers and five clinical trial bases across China, andInAcross 13 fields, including ergonomics, bioelectronics, robotic control, mechanical structure design, industrial design, and cloud computing, we have established a reserve of 187 key technologies and secured more than 100 patents, thereby building robust technological barriers.

2019In [Year], AVIC Chuangshi released its first rehabilitation medical robot product with fully independent intellectual property rights—the NovoSkeleton lower-limb rehabilitation training robot., based on the principles of neuroplasticity and exoskeleton robot control, it provides treatment for 12 conditions including cerebral palsy and stroke. Through regular rehabilitation therapy, it helps individuals who have lost lower-limb motor function restore muscle function and neural conduction, thereby assisting patients in gradually regaining their ability to walk.

He Chen recalled that AVIC Chuangshi Robot (Xi'an) Co., Ltd. strove for perfection in everything from exterior design to functional research, adopting military-grade standards to develop its smart rehabilitation products and achieve a higher level of product maturity. As individuals vary in body proportions, muscle distribution, walking habits, and gait patterns, the company incorporated multiple adjustable parameters into its robots to accommodate patients with diverse conditions. Sophisticated algorithms dynamically match different gait patterns, precisely assess each patient’s condition, and deliver customized training programs. It is reported that over the past two years, the product line has undergone several iterations, with the lower-limb rehabilitation training robot, NovoSkeleton, alone being updated through five versions.

After more than four years of development, AVIC Chuangshi has established two product lines: an integrated hardware and software solution for smart rehabilitation, and a military-civil fusion solution.. Within its smart rehabilitation product portfolio, AVIC Chuangshi covers upper and lower limb rehabilitation training, with several robotic products having obtained Class II medical device registration certificates and commenced industrialization.

On June 1, 2022, AVIC Chuangshi announced the completion of its tens-of-millions-of-yuan Series A+ financing round, to be used forEstablishment of a nationwide marketing system for the company’s smart rehabilitation product line, R&D of new serialized smart rehabilitation products for both B-end and C-end markets, expansion of military-civilian integration businesses, and further upgrading of industrialization capabilities.

Traditional clinical medicine aims at survival, keeping patients alive; whereas rehabilitation medicine focuses on quality of life, dedicated to helping patients better reintegrate into society. “Patient needs” also serve as the decisive criterion for product development at AVIC Chuangshi. Therefore, within its smart rehabilitation B2B product matrix,AVIC Chuangshi follows the clinical pathway of rehabilitation medicine and has successively launched physical therapy, occupationalTherapy, Speech/Swallowing Therapy, and Rehabilitation Assessment Product Lines.

To provide more precise rehabilitation services to patients, AVIC Chuangshi has developed software systems such as the Chuangshi Rehabilitation Cloud Platform, the Smart Rehabilitation Information System, and a Home Rehabilitation APP. By leveraging digital technologies like artificial intelligence and big data, these systems offer remote consultations for patients and precisely monitor equipment operational status to provide accurate data for physicians, enabling the formulation of more precise rehabilitation plans. This makes precision rehabilitation services more accessible and efficient. Currently, the Rehabilitation Cloud Platform hosts over 100 physicians and serves more than 6,000 patients.

Regarding the future development trends of smart rehabilitation, He Chen shared two directions:

First, intelligent and smart upgrades will be the definitive path for rehabilitation equipment.Rehabilitation equipment collects patient training data, which the system cleans and analyzes to construct knowledge graphs for single or comorbid conditions, thereby providing patients with more accurate rehabilitation training;

Second, there is a clear trend of professional rehabilitation devices for consumers (C-end) penetrating into communities and households.Within China’s three-tier medical rehabilitation system, in-hospital rehabilitation targets patients requiring acute, short-term care, while communities and households must accommodate the substantial demand for long-term chronic rehabilitation. Against the backdrop of a shortage of professional rehabilitation personnel, there is significant domestic demand for intelligent rehabilitation equipment in community and home settings. In response, AVIC Chuangshi is actively expanding its portfolio of new consumer-oriented (C-end) serialized products.

“Rehabilitation is a highly meaningful endeavor; it serves as a bridge from hospital-based treatment to extended health and wellness services. This is a vast market, where products, technologies, and services must be developed step by step,” said He Chen. AVIC Chuangshi Robot (Xi'an) Co., Ltd. will strive to achieve synergistic development across four key areas—technology, products, market, and capital—to ensure faster, steadier, and more sustainable growth.

As of now, AVIC Chuangshi has partnered with domestic2000The company has reached cooperation intentions with more than 20 medical institutions. Its products have been deployed and covered in over 200 benchmark hospitals across nearly 30 provinces, including Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Gansu, Fujian, Henan, Hebei, and Anhui, as well as more than 60 cities nationwide. This has achieved sales performance in the tens of millions within the healthcare sector and provided rehabilitation treatment to tens of thousands of patients.Looking ahead, AVIC Chuangshi will synergistically develop its two product lines, “Smart Rehabilitation” and “Military-Civilian Integration,” to meet a broader range of rehabilitation needs.

“We May Be Only 100 Meters from the Finish Line, but the Long-Distance Race in the Rehabilitation Industry Has Just Begun.”