Unitree's shares opened with 629% gains in their Shanghai trading debut on Wednesday, reaching ₹883.87 yuan after touching a high of ₹1,100 yuan on the tech-focused STAR Market. This represents a 629% surge from the company's IPO price of ₹150.8 yuan, marking one of the most spectacular debuts in Chinese stock market history. The trading debut coincided with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Beijing on Wednesday, adding to the sector's momentum. According to Investing.com, this performance reflects investor enthusiasm for humanoid and quadruped robots as Beijing prioritises robotics as a strategic technology sector, though questions remain over commercial adoption and growing US restrictions. The jump far exceeded the average first-day gain of 279% for Chinese stock listings so far this year, coming as China's broader equity market weakened with benchmark indexes falling sharply amid heavy selling in technology shares.
According to reports from Reuters, Unitree's IPO has generated unprecedented investor interest, with the offering more than 8,288 times oversubscribed by retail investors. The company raised approximately ₹6.1 billion ($904 million) by selling 10% of its shares in the IPO, with the company allotting close to 20% of the offer to strategic investors. The IPO was backed by Chinese AI company DeepSeek that invested around ₹140.8 million ($19.6 million) as per a company filing, with existing investors including Chinese tech giant Tencent. The company priced its shares at ₹150.8 yuan and is valued at approximately ₹72 billion ($50 billion), representing a 35.89 times multiple of its 2025 sales compared to roughly 18 times for Hong Kong-listed rival UBTech. The company will use the raised funds for artificial intelligence model development, new products programme, humanoid robot research and manufacturing expansion projects.
As reported by Reuters, Unitree is positioned as the world's largest humanoid robot maker by sales and is set to become the first general-purpose robotics company to debut on mainland China's stock exchanges. The company distinguishes itself from competitors by being already profitable, unlike many emerging humanoid robotics companies focused on developing commercial applications. Unitree reported revenue of nearly ₹1.7 billion ($1.7 billion) in 2025, more than four times the previous year's level, and adjusted net profit of about ₹591 million ($591 million), making it unusual among humanoid robotics companies. The company shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots to end customers in 2025, with total mass-production output exceeding 6,500 units. Most units went to research labs and entertainment buyers rather than factory floors, with the company valued at approximately 100 times earnings despite real revenue figures. Unitree's products include bipedal humanoid robots which walk and manipulate objects with dexterous hands, and four-legged robots utilized for tasks like hazard detection. The company's robot dogs start at $2,700 while its child-size G1 model sells at $13,500.
According to Reuters, Unitree has received backing from prominent Chinese technology companies including Tencent, Alibaba, Ant Group, China Mobile, and Geely, with these companies investing through affiliated vehicles in Unitree's June 2025 funding round. DeepSeek separately invested ₹140.8 million ($19.6 million) through strategic placement in Unitree's IPO, acquiring a 2.31% stake. The state connection is more limited than suggested in the original draft, with Unitree's prospectus identifying 0.67% of its shares as directly state-owned, held by Shenzhen Capital Group and its subsidiary Shenzhen Innovation Capital. Separately, several state-backed funds hold larger stakes, including the Beijing Robotics Industry Development Fund and China Internet Investment Fund. Founder Wang Xingxing attended a summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping early last year, with Wang continuing to own roughly one-fifth of the company and the surge in its stock price pushing his paper wealth above $12 billion.
Unitree has achieved a significant technical milestone with its Superhuman robot, which the company unveiled on Monday and claims can jump 2 meters from a standing position and can run at speeds of up to 12.66 meters per second. According to Reuters, engineers built the machine in less than three months, with the robot clearing a 2-meter standing high jump on legs measuring 0.85 meters. Founder Wang Xingxing had predicted in March at the Yabuli China Entrepreneurs Forum that humanoid machines would break human sprint limits by mid-year, citing cheaper components and faster algorithms. The robots of the Hangzhou-based manufacturer are popular for performing a full range of motions, including dance and backflipping, with the company's G1 robots performing martial arts and showing full range of motions live on stage during China's Spring Festival Gala in February. However, hardware records still sit some distance from revenue generation, with most units going to research labs and entertainment buyers rather than industrial applications.
According to Morgan Stanley, the company is positioned well for significant market growth, with the investment bank raising its forecast for China's humanoid robot shipments to 50,000 in 2026, nearly double the previous projection of 28,000. It estimated the country's humanoid robot market to grow to $15 billion by 2030 from the present $2 billion. Morgan Stanley also estimates pilot projects in China to start moving into broader deployments in the second half of 2026, with full-size humanoids estimated to account for around 30% of shipments, increasing to 70% by 2028. As noted by Morningstar analyst Kangyuxiao Li in a client note, the Unitree debut provides mainland investors direct exposure to one of the sector's leading companies and could influence valuations for future robotics IPOs and private companies. The 629%+ opening is being viewed as a significant milestone for China's robotics sector, which is emerging as a key battleground in the Sino-U.S. tech competition. However, the challenge now shifts from winning investor attention to proving that Unitree's technology can generate sustainable commercial demand while navigating growing US restrictions.
