Unitree IPO Hits $9B Valuation as Retail Investors Rush China's Humanoid Robot Champion

Unitree IPO Achieves Record Oversubscription

Unitree has priced its Shanghai IPO at 150.8 yuan ($22.35) per share, raising 6.1 billion yuan ($904 million) and securing a market valuation of approximately $9 billion1

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. The Chinese humanoid robot maker allocated about 40.4 million shares, representing 10 per cent of its outstanding shares, on Shanghai's STAR Market1

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. The retail segment saw extraordinary demand, with subscriptions exceeding 5,500 times the available shares, far surpassing CXMT's blockbuster IPO last month which was oversubscribed just 200 times1

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. This investor enthusiasm reflects the broader appetite for AI-related stocks in China, where the Star 50 index has surged 27.4 per cent this year1

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. CITIC Securities is acting as the sponsor and lead underwriter for the deal1

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Unitree Robotics Emerges as National Champion

Founded in 2016 by engineer Wang Xingxing, Hangzhou-based Unitree first gained recognition for relatively inexpensive quadruped robots before expanding into humanoids2

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The company's G1, H1 and R1 humanoids have attracted global attention through viral demonstrations showing them running, dancing and performing kung fu routines2

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. During China's nationally televised Lunar New Year celebration, Unitree humanoid robots performed an elaborate martial arts routine, scaling walls, executing back flips and wielding swords4

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. Last year, Unitree's success earned founder Wang Xingxing a front-row seat at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, underscoring the company's status as a symbol of Beijing's drive to dominate embodied intelligence1

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. The humanoid robot manufacturer has demonstrated that China can produce sophisticated robots at prices far below many overseas competitors, drawing on the country's extensive supply chains for motors, sensors, batteries and other components2

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Strong Financial Performance Backs Valuation

Unitree's revenue rose more than fourfold to nearly 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, with adjusted net profit of about 600 million yuan2

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. The company shipped 5,500 humanoid robots last year, more than any other manufacturer1

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. Overseas revenue accounts for more than 40 per cent of earnings, with the US making up between 13.3 per cent and 18.4 per cent depending on the year1

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. Based on last year's results, the share sale gives Unitree a price-to-earnings ratio of 219 and a price-to-sales ratio of almost 361

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. Strategic investors in the Shanghai IPO include Chinese AI company DeepSeek, founded by Liang Wenfeng1

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. Unitree plans to use proceeds to develop robot software and hardware, launch new products and build a manufacturing base3

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Geopolitical Tensions Shadow Growth Prospects

The IPO comes as the United States and China ratchet up trade and technology tensions in AI-driven robotics3

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. Last month, the US Federal Communications Commission banned imports of humanoid robots in a move widely seen as targeting Chinese products, citing national security risks1

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. US officials argue that as such robots become commonplace in factories, offices and homes, they could surreptitiously collect sensitive commercial, government and personal information or provide new avenues for cybersecurity attacks on critical infrastructure4

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. The FCC ban affects new models while existing humanoid and four-legged robots with US approvals can continue sales3

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. In its IPO prospectus, Unitree acknowledged that the FCC move would not affect continued sales of existing main products in the US market, but new models would face the risk of being cut off1

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. China accused the United States of overstretching the concept of national security and threatened retaliation, announcing retaliatory measures citing FCC actions as one factor4

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Embodied AI Drives Strategic Industry Competition

Humanoid robotics increasingly have applications with embodied AI, or AI deployed in the physical world, creating a source of emerging US-China competition1

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. Morgan Stanley equity analyst Sheng Zhong highlighted the Unitree IPO as a catalyst that could support other listed stocks in the sector, noting that as the strategic industry accelerates and continues to ramp up, this could be the beginning of US and China embodied AI competition escalation1

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. Today's AI systems learn primarily from analyzing vast quantities of digital data, but humanoid robots will increasingly learn by interacting with people and objects in the physical world through embodied intelligence4

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. Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang has declared physical AI as the next frontier for artificial intelligence, and in June announced a partnership with Unitree to build a research robot, with Unitree supplying the mechanical body and Nvidia the digital brain4

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. A recent report from CLSA forecasts the global market will reach $69 billion by 2030, up from roughly $2 billion this year4

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Commercial Viability Questions Persist

Despite the investor enthusiasm, questions remain about the immediate commercial viability of humanoid robots4

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. Current demand mostly stems from universities and government-backed projects using robots for education, research and demonstrations2

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. Humanoids still struggle with reliability, dexterity and performing varied tasks for long periods without human intervention2

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. Developing humanoids requires heavy spending on engineers, robot-training data, AI models and manufacturing capacity years before demand from factories or households is certain2

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. Public markets offer companies the capital to keep developing their technology while government support and investor interest remain strong2

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. Unitree is not the only humanoid robot manufacturer seeking listings, with rivals Leju Robotics filing an application in May to list on Shenzhen's ChiNext market and Shanghai-based AgiBot beginning preparations for a Hong Kong IPO in July2

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. The listing on Shanghai's STAR Market keeps a strategic company on a domestic exchange, aligning with Beijing's preference for keeping technology champions and their capital at home amid a crackdown limiting Chinese citizens' exposure to US equity markets1

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