Unitree prices Shanghai IPO at about $9 billion valuation
China’s Unitree has priced its Shanghai initial public offering at 150.8 yuan (about $22.34) per share, valuing the Hangzhou based humanoid robot maker at around 61 billion yuan ($9.04 billion) at listing, according to Reuters.
The company, also known as Yushu Technology, is seeking to raise 6.1 billion yuan (about $904 million) through the sale of 40.45 million new shares, equal to 10% of its enlarged share capital, on Shanghai’s STAR Market. The STAR Market is China’s technology focused board, so a successful listing would give public investors a clearer benchmark for one of the country’s better known humanoid robot companies.
The valuation is above an earlier Reuters reported target of up to 50 billion yuan (about $7.4 billion). Chinese AI company DeepSeek is among the strategic investors in the Unitree IPO, Reuters reported, citing Thursday’s filing.
Humanoids are now Unitree’s largest business
Unitree’s prospectus gives a rare view into how its humanoid business compares with its better known four legged robots. Overall revenue more than quadrupled to 1.7 billion yuan (about $252 million) in 2025, while humanoid robots generated 867.8 million yuan (about $129 million) in sales and overtook four legged robots as the company’s largest business.
That mix is useful context for the listing. Unitree has built much of its global visibility through running, dancing and acrobatic robot demonstrations, but the filing points to humanoids as a commercial revenue driver, not just a showpiece product line.
Growth has cooled this year. First quarter revenue rose 68.5% to 422.8 million yuan (about $62.6 million), while profit excluding one time items fell 52.6% to 40.3 million yuan (about $6 million), as Unitree increased spending on research and marketing.
U.S. sales risk hangs over overseas growth
The IPO is arriving during a period of tighter U.S. and China trade and technology restrictions. Reuters reported that Washington has imposed new restrictions on foreign made humanoid and four legged robots, while Beijing has responded with export curbs and sanctions on selected U.S. entities.
Unitree has said its existing humanoid and four legged robots have U.S. approvals, but future models could be barred from sale there. U.S. sales accounted for 13.3% of Unitree’s revenue last year, according to the prospectus.
The filing also warned that U.S. tariffs, limits on government purchases, export controls, or the loss of existing approvals could hurt overseas expansion and disrupt supplies of imported parts. For a company using its IPO proceeds to develop robot software and hardware, launch new products, and build a manufacturing base, market access is not a side issue.
IPO subscriptions are due to open on August 10, according to the prospectus.
Source: reuters.com
