Unitree Robotics to Debut in Shanghai After Record $904 Million IPO, First Humanoid Robot Maker Listed in Mainland China

Unitree Robotics, the world's largest humanoid robot maker by sales, is set to begin trading on Shanghai's STAR market Wednesday after raising 6.1 billion yuan ($904 million) in an initial public offering that was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed, a record for the exchange.

The listing makes Unitree the first humanoid robot maker to go public in mainland China, according to CNN. Other Chinese android firms such as UBTECH and Dobot have been trading in Hong Kong, while Agibot is pursuing an IPO in that city.

"This IPO is regarded as a key milestone for the humanoid industry and can serve as a benchmark for other IPOs in the pipeline," Ethan Qi, associate director at market analysis firm Counterpoint Research, told CNN.

The Hangzhou-based company has become a symbol of China's push to dominate next-generation robotics. Unitree shot to prominence after its dancing robots performed at China's annual Lunar New Year gala last year. On Monday, Unitree unveiled a new humanoid robot called "Superman" which it said can jump two meters high and run at 12.66 meters per second.

China has bet billions on humanoid robots as economic growth slows and the workforce shrinks, with Beijing describing them as the "new high ground of technological competition and a fresh frontier for future industries," according to a 2023 policy document cited by CNN.

**Rapid Revenue Growth, but Early Stage for Industrial Use**

Unitree's revenue skyrocketed more than tenfold to nearly 1.7 billion yuan ($252 million) in 2025, its prospectus showed. The company delivered more than 5,500 humanoid robots worldwide last year, making it the largest seller of androids globally. China accounted for the vast majority of global humanoid robot deliveries last year, far outpacing U.S. competitors such as Tesla, Figure AI and Boston Dynamics, CNN reported.

Unitree is one of the few companies in the sector to achieve profitability, posting a net profit of 278 million yuan ($41 million) in 2025.

Despite rapid growth, the technology remains constrained by hardware and software limitations, with experts saying bipedal robots are still years away from full-scale deployment. For the first three quarters of 2025, research and educational institutions accounted for the majority of Unitree's sales, while industrial deployments made up less than 10%, according to its earlier filing.

"Unitree has demonstrated strong technology and commercial traction, but moving from demonstrations and early deployments to widespread industrial adoption will take time," Kangyuxiao Li, equity analyst at Morningstar, told CNN.

Proceeds from the IPO will be used for research and development of embodied AI models and robot hardware, as well as factory expansion, the prospectus stated.

Qi of Counterpoint Research cautioned that Unitree's edge relies mostly on hardware and motion control, and that the company needs to boost investment in embodied AI -- the machines' "brains." In June, Unitree announced a partnership with U.S. tech giant Nvidia for research and development, according to CNN.

**US Restrictions Pose Risk to Overseas Sales**

Unitree's future faces headwinds beyond product competitiveness. The company was added to the U.S. government's blacklist of Chinese military-linked companies in June, barring it from doing business with the Pentagon. Last month, Washington banned imports of new humanoid and quadruped robots from foreign manufacturers, citing national security risks -- a move aimed at China.

The restrictions do not cover existing models approved for sale in the U.S., but could hurt future sales for Unitree, which generates over 40% of its revenue overseas. The company said in its prospectus that it "may be unable to sustain rapid growth in overseas sales and could even see its performance decline" if the U.S. continues to impose restrictions, CNN reported.

Founded in 2016 in the eastern tech hub of Hangzhou, Unitree is backed by Meituan, Tencent, Alibaba and AI startup DeepSeek, according to CNN. Its founder Wang Xingxing was seated in the front row at President Xi Jinping's rare symposium with top tech leaders last year.