How Much Water Is in Robotics' Celebrated Order Announcements?

A social media post by Mekamind founder Shao Tianlan has pushed the dispute over the authenticity of commercial orders in robotics into the open. He argued that "assembly-style" embodied-AI startups manufacture fake, unsustainable revenue through related-party transactions, lack product-market fit, and chase publicity instead of customers — seeking an IPO just two or three years after founding. His verdict: illegal, unethical and unwise.

Mekamind had just completed a Hong Kong listing. Blue Whale Technology's interviews with robotics founders and supply-chain figures point to one conclusion: several layers separate an order figure from real commercialization.

A single deal passes through roughly seven or eight stages — intent, framework agreement, winning-bid notice, formal procurement, customer order, production, shipment, acceptance and revenue recognition — and any one of them can be packaged as an "order," one industry insider said.

When companies publish order announcements, outsiders rarely learn or even ask about the key terms: the prepayment ratio, acceptance conditions and collection cycle. Observers look only at the amount and the customer's name.