Insta360, the Chinese action camera maker challenging GoPro, surged 285 per cent in its trading debut on Shanghai’s Star Market after raising 1.9 billion yuan (US$264.5 million) in the city’s largest initial public offering (IPO) in 17 months.
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Max Richter, who co-founded the company with 34-year-old Chinese entrepreneur Liu Jingkang in 2015, said Insta360 is “committed to expanding [its] global presence and elevating brand influence to boost [its] market share worldwide”. He identified China, the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea as key markets for the company.
Richter, who is also the vice-president of marketing, spoke to the Post ahead of the company’s debut. It is trading under the company’s official name, Arashi Vision.
Insta360 operates an offline retail network spanning more than 60 countries and sells globally through online platforms including Amazon.com. The company is “actively fostering emerging markets in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, and exploring new opportunities in Latin America and Africa”, Richter said.
Best known for its 360-degree cameras, action cameras and webcams, Insta360 has built a following among adventure enthusiasts, vloggers and other content creators. The company has partnered with Western brands such as Google, to help capture Street View images, and Adobe, integrating into the Premiere Pro video editing workflow with a plug-in.
Insta360 was the leading brand of consumer 360-degree cameras in 2023, with a 67 per cent share of the market, and came second in action cameras behind GoPro, according to market research firm Frost & Sullivan.
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