How this former rising star of the China tech scene now finds itself close to collapse
- Known as the world’s first commercial foldable smartphone maker, Royole has reportedly not been able to pay wages for the last six months
- Royole filed an application to list on the STAR board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange on New Year’s Eve 2020 but later pulled it
Royole, once a high-flying start-up that makes flexible mobile screens, is reportedly on the edge of financial collapse after a failed initial public offering attempt in Shanghai, in a cautionary tale about China’s fast-moving entrepreneurial landscape.
The report was in line with previous media reports that the Shenzhen-based company has suffered from a funding crisis after failing to complete a US$22 billion IPO in Shanghai in early 2021.
A former executive at the company, who declined to be identified, told the Post the company had been in dire financial straits ever since its IPO plan failed.
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Meet Royole FlexPai, the world’s first foldable smartphone
Screenshots have circulated on Chinese social media indicating that Royole’s finance department emailed all employees in February to inform them that the company was working on new funding and that some financing had been delayed.