(Yicai) March 17 -- Guilin Fuda’s shares soared by their daily trading limit after the Chinese auto parts producer said it plans to invest in a robotics startup to jointly produce key components for humanoid robots.

Fuda [SHA: 603166] closed up 10 percent at CNY14.19 (USD1.96) a share in Shanghai today, after hitting an intraday record of CNY14.57 on March 13. The stock has more than tripled in value since the company ventured into robotics parts last September.

The CNY105 million (USD14.5 million) investment will see Fuda acquire a 35 percent stake in Changban Yangzhou Robot Technology through a capital injection and equity purchase from shareholders, the Guangxi province-based buyer announced yesterday.

Once the three-stage investment is completed, Fuda and Changban Robot will establish a CNY100 million joint venture, with the former owning 70 percent and the latter 30 percent, Fuda noted. The new company will leverage Changban Robot’s production technology to mass-produce 10,000 screw products a year.

Screws, which convert rotary motion to linear motion, and vice versa, enable precise positioning and movement in robotic arms and joints.

Founded in 2022, Changban Robot researches, develops, and manufactures precision transmission parts for industrial and service robots and smart equipment, and has strong capabilities in screw products and customized machinery development. In the past two years, it incurred losses and had revenue of CNY980,000 (USD135,400) last year, according to Fuda.

Fuda launched its robotics reducer business last year, leveraging its existing precision gear production expertise. However, it has yet to generate revenue from this gearbox business.

Editor: Futura Costaglione