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

Chinese humanoid robot maker's IPO more than 5,500 times oversubscribed by retail investors

Retail investors are jostling for a slice of a leading Chinese humanoid robot company, in a sign of huge enthusiasm for tech stocks on the mainland. The retail segment of Unitree's initial public offering was more than 5,500 times oversubscribed, according to a stock exchange filing published ahead of a listing in Shanghai this month, even as more shares were made available to smaller investors to meet the demand. In advance of the IPO, Unitree has allotted about 40.4mn shares, or about 10 per cent of its outstanding shares, priced at Rmb150.8 ($22.35), raising Rmb6.1bn ($904mn) and giving it a market valuation of $9bn. Retail investors were allocated about 16 per cent of the total, with institutional investors including hedge funds linked to DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng. There is huge enthusiasm for AI or AI-related stocks in China, amid a boom in stock valuations. The country's Star 50 index has surged 27.4 per cent this year, well ahead of the benchmark CSI 300's 0.8 per cent gain. The increased interest also comes amid a crackdown by authorities in Beijing keen to limit Chinese citizens' exposure to US equity markets. Unitree, founded by Wang Xingxing in 2016, has become a champion in the Chinese robotics industry -- as well as a widely recognised brand -- thanks to its robots' dancing, flipping and boxing displays at lunar new year galas. Last year, Unitree's success earned Wang a front-row seat at a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The retail investor interest in Unitree far exceeded that of CXMT's blockbuster IPO last month, which was more than 200 times oversubscribed. 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 36. Unitree shipped 5,500 humanoid robots last year. Citic Securities is acting as the sponsor and lead underwriter. The frenzy comes despite the US Federal Communications Commission last month banning imports of humanoid robots in a move widely seen as targeting Chinese products. According to Unitree, overseas revenue accounts for more than 40 per cent of its earnings, with the US making up between 13.3 per cent and 18.4 per cent depending on the year. In a section of its IPO prospectus highlighting risks, Unitree said the FCC move would not "affect the continued sales of the company's existing main products in the US market", but added that its new models would "face the risk" of being cut off. In a recent note, Sheng Zhong, an equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, highlighted the Unitree IPO as a "catalyst" that could support other listed stocks in the sector. Humanoid robotics, which increasingly have applications with "embodied AI", or AI deployed in the physical world, are a source of emerging competition between the US and China, she noted. "As the industry accelerates and continues to ramp up, we think this could be the beginning of US and China embodied AI competition escalation," she said.

Explainer: What is Unitree and why are China's humanoid robot makers racing to list?

BEIJING, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Chinese robot maker Unitree has priced its Shanghai initial public offering at 150.8 yuan per share, with subscriptions to start on Monday, as it seeks to raise 6.1 billion yuan ($904 million) in a deal that would see it become the first mainland-listed humanoid robot manufacturer. Below are some facts about Unitree, and why it is leading several Chinese robotics companies towards public listings. WHAT IS UNITREE? Founded in 2016 by engineer Wang Xingxing, Hangzhou-based Unitree first became known for relatively inexpensive quadruped robots -- or robot dogs. Its ⁠G1, H1 and R1 humanoids have gone on to attract global attention through viral demonstrations showing them running, dancing and performing martial arts. The company competes with Tesla, Boston Dynamics and a growing field of Chinese startups seeking to build machines that can eventually work in factories and homes. Unitree's revenue rose more than fourfold to nearly 1.7 billion yuan in 2025. Unlike many humanoid startups, it is profitable, reporting adjusted net profit of about 600 million yuan. Its overseas revenue accounted for more than 40% of sales during each of the reporting periods disclosed in its prospectus. WHY IS UNITREE IMPORTANT? Unitree has shown that China can manufacture ⁠sophisticated robots at prices far below many overseas competitors, drawing on the country's extensive supply chains for motors, sensors, batteries and other components. It has also become a symbol of Beijing's drive to dominate embodied intelligence, an emerging field that combines AI models with machines capable of navigating and interacting with the physical world. But its commercial success does not ⁠yet prove humanoids can replace workers. Current demand mostly stems from universities and government-backed projects using robots for education, research and demonstrations. Humanoids still struggle with reliability, dexterity and performing varied tasks for long periods without human intervention. WHY ARE ⁠ROBOT MAKERS SEEKING LISTINGS? Developing humanoids requires heavy spending on engineers, robot-training data, AI models and manufacturing capacity -- years before demand from factories or households is certain. Therefore, public markets offer companies the capital to keep developing ⁠their technology while government support and investor interest remain strong. Leju Robotics, which makes the Kuavo humanoid, filed an application in May to list on Shenzhen's ChiNext market. Shanghai-based AgiBot, another leading humanoid producer, began preparations for a Hong Kong IPO in July. Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Kevin Buckland Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Asia Pacific * ADAS, AV & Safety * Sustainable & EV Supply Chain * EV Strategy Eduardo Baptista Thomson Reuters Eduardo Baptista is a Senior Correspondent for Reuters based in Beijing, covering China's technology, space, and automotive industries. He has led enterprise and investigative reporting on China's military-linked companies, artificial intelligence and semiconductor supply chains, as well as macroeconomic and industrial policy. Baptista has reported from China for nearly a decade and holds a BA in History from the University of Cambridge.

Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree prices IPO at $9 billion valuation

China's Unitree IPO puts global robotics race and geopolitics in focus China's Unitree has priced its Shanghai initial public offering at 150.8 yuan ($22.34) per share, valuing the company at around 61 billion yuan ($9.04 billion), it said on Thursday, in a deal that would make it the country's first mainland-listed maker of humanoid robots. In a filing to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Unitree, also known as Yushu Technology, said it was seeking to raise 6.1 billion yuan. The potential valuation at the time of listing is above an earlier target of up to 50 billion yuan reported by Reuters in September. The IPO comes as the United States and China ratchet up trade and technology tensions, with Washington tightening Chinese access to U.S. technology and markets -- including the imposition of new restrictions on foreign-made humanoid and four-legged robots -- and Beijing responding with export curbs and sanctions on selected U.S. entities. Unitree has said its existing humanoid and four-legged robots, known for their running, dancing and acrobatic displays, have U.S. approvals, but future models could be barred from sale there. The Hangzhou-based company is selling 40.45 million new shares, or 10% of its enlarged share capital, on Shanghai's STAR Market, according to its sale prospectus. Chinese AI company DeepSeek is among the strategic investors in Unitree's IPO, according to Thursday's filing. IPO subscriptions are due to open on August 10 and Unitree plans to use the proceeds to develop robot software and hardware, launch new products and build a manufacturing base, the prospectus showed.

China's Robots Know Kung Fu and Can Scale Walls. Can They Woo Investors?

Steve Lohr reported from Seoul. Xinyun Wu reported from Taipei, Taiwan. Unitree Robotics may be little known outside China. Its robots are not. Millions around the world have watched videos of the company's machines carrying out remarkable feats that seem almost superhuman. During China's nationally televised Lunar New Year celebration, a troupe of Unitree humanoid robots performed an elaborate kung fu routine, scaling walls, executing back flips and wielding swords. Now the company is taking its biggest step yet: an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. On Thursday, Unitree priced its shares at the equivalent of around $22, seeking to raise about $900 million in a deal valuing it at about $9 billion. The listing comes at a pivotal moment for the humanoid robot industry. Investors are betting that machines built to look and move like humans will become the next major technology breakthrough. Governments increasingly see them as strategic assets as well. Last month, the Federal Communications Commission announced plans to ban new Chinese-made humanoid and quadruped robots, citing national security concerns. U.S. 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 infrastructure. Last year, European researchers identified security vulnerabilities in a Unitree robot that could potentially be exploited by hackers. China accused the United States of "overstretching the concept of national security," and threatened retaliation. On Wednesday, Beijing announced a series of retaliatory measures against the United States, citing actions taken by the F.C.C. as one factor behind the moves. Washington also appears determined to avoid a repeat of what happened in the electric vehicle industry, where Chinese manufacturers, aided by generous state support, rapidly scaled production and came to dominate the global market. Unitree has emerged as China's leading contender to dominate humanoid robotics. Its importance was underscored when its founder, Wang Xingxing, sat prominently across from Xi Jinping, the country's top leader, at a symposium last year showcasing China's technological advances. The company, based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, traces its origins to Mr. Wang, who began tinkering with robots at age 19 while a university student. After graduate school and a stint at a drone maker, he founded the company a decade ago. What started as a one-person start-up has become one of China's leading robotics companies and a national champion in Beijing's drive to lead the humanoid robot market. At 36, Mr. Wang has become the public face of that ambition. Yet Unitree also embodies the central question hanging over the industry. The technology is advancing rapidly, as the company's demonstrations make clear. Whether there will be a large commercial market anytime soon remains far less certain. "The Unitree stock sale will be a bellwether for how the capital markets view this exciting but nascent technology," said Lian Jye Su, a Singapore-based analyst for Omdia, a technology research firm. According to the company and market researchers, Unitree shipped more humanoid robots than any other manufacturer last year. The company remains relatively small, generating about $250 million in revenue in 2025. But sales more than quadrupled, and it is profitable. Even as doubts linger about the immediate commercial viability of humanoid robots, their long-term importance is widely acknowledged as a significant step in the advancement of artificial intelligence. Today's A.I. systems, like chatbots, learn primarily from analyzing vast quantities of digital data culled from the internet and elsewhere. But humanoid robots will increasingly learn by interacting with people and objects in the physical world. That emerging field is known as "embodied A.I." or "physical A.I." Self-driving cars are one application, but humanoid robots are expected to operate in more varied and unpredictable environments -- from factories and warehouses to stores and, eventually, homes. For technology companies, humanoids represent an emerging market for chips and software. Jensen Huang, the chief executive of American chip giant Nvidia, has declared physical A.I. as the "next frontier" for artificial intelligence. In June, Nvidia announced a partnership with Unitree to build a research robot. Unitree will supply the mechanical body and Nvidia the digital brain -- a specialized A.I. chip designed specifically for a robot. Demand for humanoid robots, some analysts predict, could accelerate over the next several years. A recent report from CLSA, an investment research firm, forecasts that the global market will reach $69 billion by 2030, up from roughly $2 billion this year. Adoption is expected to unfold in stages stretched over decades, according to the report. Manufacturers, particularly automakers, are likely to be the first large customers, followed by service and retail industries before eventual household use. Looking further out, Morgan Stanley estimates the humanoid robot market could exceed $5 trillion by 2050, with as many as one billion models in operation worldwide. Those projections remain highly speculative but illustrate investors' grandiose visions for the sector. In its offering prospectus, Unitree identifies uncertainty over U.S. trade policy as a risk. The company also warned that intensifying competition and softer demand slowed growth in the first quarter of 2026. Revenue still rose 68 percent from a year earlier. Profit fell 55 percent, hit by competitive pressure but also increased spending on research and development. Most of Unitree's biggest rivals are domestic, including Agibot, UBTech, Leju Robotics, EngineAI and Fourier Intelligence. UBTech went public in Hong Kong in late 2023 and now has a market capitalization of $5.6 billion. Unitree is the first humanoid robotics company to list in mainland China. American competitors -- including Agility Robotics, Figure AI, Apptronik, 1X Technologies and Boston Dynamics, which is owned by the South Korean carmaker, Hyundai Motor -- are also racing to develop humanoid robots. Tesla, which was named as a competitor in Unitree's prospectus, has said it eventually aims to produce one million humanoid robots annually. For now, Tesla and most American robot makers are proceeding cautiously, focusing on technological refinement before mass production. China, however, is moving faster toward mass production. Chinese manufacturers shipped roughly 18,500 humanoid robots in the first half of this year, compared with about 4,000 by U.S. companies, according to Omdia. Unitree's products range from less than $5,000 to more than $150,000, spanning industrial, educational and consumer markets. For now, however, dazzling demonstrations remain easier than building a business. Much of today's industrial demand consists of pilot projects, training robots to sort, move and assemble parts. Fully autonomous teams of humanoids are still years away. A kung fu performance can showcase what humanoid robots are capable of. Whether it points to a mass market is another question. "It's not clear yet where the large-scale consumption of humanoid robots will be," Mr. Su of Omdia said.

Unitree's IPO could value China's robot champion at $7bn or more

Sponsor CITIC pegs the humanoid-robot maker at over 50 billion yuan after its Shanghai listing, a landmark for a sector Beijing has made a national priority. China's best-known robot maker is about to test the public markets. Unitree could be worth more than 50 billion yuan, roughly $7bn, after its Shanghai listing, according to its IPO sponsor.The estimate comes from CITIC Securities. As the deal's sponsor, CITIC set out the valuation as Unitree kicked off pricing for its float on Shanghai's STAR Market, the exchange's board for technology companies.Some readings run higher still. Depending on where the shares price, other estimates suggest the valuation could climb well above that figure, a sign of how much appetite there is for the stock. The timing plays to the hype. Unitree says it expects revenue to grow in the first half of the year as demand for humanoid robots accelerates, giving the listing a genuine growth story to sell. Unitree made its name on price. It builds both four-legged robots and humanoids, and undercut Western rivals dramatically, putting a walking humanoid within reach of universities, developers and even hobbyists. That affordability reshaped the field. By pricing its machines far below competitors, Unitree turned humanoid robots from lab curiosities into products people could actually buy, seeding a developer base around its hardware. The listing is also a milestone for its home market. It follows the recent approval of Unitree's Shanghai listing registration, clearing the last big hurdle before the shares reach investors. Beijing has a stake in the outcome. China has designated humanoid robotics a strategic priority, and a marquee domestic IPO is exactly the kind of showcase the government wants as it races the United States in physical AI. Unitree is not the only one going public. Rivals are lining up too, with humanoid maker EngineAI filing for a Hong Kong IPO, a wave of listings that signals the sector's move from prototype to profit. Demand is showing up in unexpected places. China's carmakers are among the buyers, with BYD planning to put a humanoid robot in its showrooms, a concrete use case that helps justify the valuations. The software is catching up to the hardware. Systems such as Google DeepMind's Gemini Robotics models now control whole humanoids, narrowing the gap between a machine that walks and one that is genuinely useful. The choice of venue matters. Listing on Shanghai's STAR Market keeps a strategic company on a domestic exchange, in line with Beijing's preference for keeping its technology champions and their capital at home. The race with the United States hangs over the deal. American firms are pouring money into humanoids too, and a well-funded, publicly listed Unitree gives China a flagship to point to in a contest it frames as central to the future. Still, the enthusiasm carries risk. Humanoid robots remain expensive to build and unproven at scale, and a rich IPO valuation bakes in an assumption that mass adoption arrives faster than it so far has. Unitree's numbers will face scrutiny once it is public. Growth expectations are one thing, but listed companies must show durable revenue, and a young hardware firm carries the volatility that comes with a new market. The valuation range itself tells a story. That estimates swing from around 50 billion yuan to twice that reflects how little agreement there is on what a humanoid-robot maker is actually worth this early. For now, the float is a statement of intent. A $7bn-plus valuation would crown Unitree as the standard-bearer for China's robot ambitions, and set a benchmark the rest of the industry will be measured against.

What is Unitree and why are China's humanoid robot makers racing to list? - The Korea Times

Children stand near Unitree's humanoid robots on display at a Unitree store in Beijing, China, Aug. 10. Reuters-Yonhap BEIJING -- Chinese robot maker Unitree has priced its Shanghai initial public offering at 150.8 yuan per share, with subscriptions to start on Monday, as it seeks to raise 6.1 billion yuan ($904 million) in a deal that would see it become the first mainland-listed humanoid robot manufacturer. Founded in 2016 by engineer Wang Xingxing, Hangzhou-based Unitree first became known for relatively inexpensive quadruped robots -- or robot dogs. Its G1, H1 and R1 humanoids have gone on to attract global attention through viral demonstrations showing them running, dancing and performing martial arts. The company competes with Tesla, Boston Dynamics and a growing field of Chinese startups seeking to build machines that can eventually work in factories and homes. Unitree's revenue rose more than fourfold to nearly 1.7 billion yuan in 2025. Unlike many humanoid startups, it is profitable, reporting adjusted net profit of about 600 million yuan. Its overseas revenue accounted for more than 40 percent of sales during each of the reporting periods disclosed in its prospectus. Unitree has shown that China can manufacture sophisticated robots at prices far below many overseas competitors, drawing on the country's extensive supply chains for motors, sensors, batteries and other components. It has also become a symbol of Beijing's drive to dominate embodied intelligence, an emerging field that combines AI models with machines capable of navigating and interacting with the physical world. But its commercial success does not yet prove humanoids can replace workers. Current demand mostly stems from universities and government-backed projects using robots for education, research and demonstrations. Humanoids still struggle with reliability, dexterity and performing varied tasks for long periods without human intervention. Developing humanoids requires heavy spending on engineers, robot-training data, AI models and manufacturing capacity -- years before demand from factories or households is certain. Therefore, public markets offer companies the capital to keep developing their technology while government support and investor interest remain strong. Leju Robotics, which makes the Kuavo humanoid, filed an application in May to list on Shenzhen's ChiNext market. Shanghai-based AgiBot, another leading humanoid producer, began preparations for a Hong Kong IPO in July.

World's largest humanoid robot maker Unitree's founder becomes billionaire ahead of IPO

Wang Xingxing, chairman and CEO of Unitree Robotics, the world's largest humanoid robot maker by shipments, has become China's first humanoid robot billionaire ahead of the company's Shanghai listing. According to a filing on Aug. 6, Unitree priced its initial public offering at 150.8 yuan (US$22.34) per share, valuing the company at about 61 billion yuan (US$9.04 billion). The deal will make the Hangzhou-based firm China's first mainland-listed humanoid robot manufacturer, Reuters reported. Based on his ownership stake, the 36-year-old has amassed an estimated fortune of $2.4 billion, according to Forbes. The company, also known as Yushu Technology, plans to raise 6.1 billion yuan through the IPO, with Chinese AI startup DeepSeek among its strategic investors, according to the filing. According to the prospectus, the proceeds will be used to develop new products and improve software algorithms. Founded by Wang in 2016 after a brief stint at Chinese drone giant DJI, Unitree has launched more than a dozen products, including quadruped robot dogs and humanoid robots. It also supplies components such as lidar sensors and dexterous robotic hands. The company's profile rose sharply in early 2025 after its humanoid robots appeared at China's Spring Festival Gala, demonstrating capabilities including walking, running and performing martial arts. The increased visibility was followed by rapid business growth. According to the prospectus, Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, the highest volume globally. Between 2023 and 2025, it also sold more than 33,000 quadruped robots, reinforcing its position as the world's largest supplier in that segment. Speaking at an online investor meeting on Aug. 7, Wang said the company will continue advancing key technologies, including embodied AI foundation models, scenario-based data collection and analysis, reinforcement learning, robot foundation models, in-house core components and high-performance actuators, according to Global Times. He said Unitree is also expanding its product lineup to include humanoid, quadruped and mecha robots, with the goal of deploying robots in physically demanding and high-risk environments while allowing people to focus on more creative work. Addressing an investor's question about recent restrictions by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on advanced robotics equipment, Wang said the company had already disclosed the risks posed by rising trade tensions and regulatory measures in its prospectus and other public filings. He said Unitree's current humanoid and quadruped robots have received U.S. approvals, but future models could face restrictions on sales in the country. Unitree's listing comes as a growing number of Chinese robotics startups, including Deep Robotics, Leju Robotics, AgiBot, X Square Robot and LimX Dynamics, prepare to enter public markets. China is home to more than 140 humanoid robot manufacturers. Annual shipments reached 14,400 units, with Chinese companies accounting for roughly 80% of humanoid robots shipped worldwide, CCTV News reported.