Unitree shares surge in Shanghai humanoid robotics debut
Unitree shares rose nearly sixfold during their first morning of trading on Shanghai’s STAR Market, valuing the Chinese humanoid and quadruped robot maker at about $50 billion. According to Reuters, the stock reached 883.87 yuan after opening at 1,100 yuan, well above its IPO price.
The Unitree Shanghai IPO gives one of China’s most visible humanoid developers access to public capital while many competitors remain unprofitable. The debut also produced a much larger gain than the 279% average first day rise for Chinese listings during the year to date, even as benchmark Chinese indexes fell 2%.
Key facts
- IPO price: 150.8 yuan (about $22.40) per share
- Morning session price: 883.87 yuan per share
- Opening high: 1,100 yuan per share
- Market valuation: About $50 billion
- Capital raised: About $900 million
- Shares sold: Approximately 10% of the company
Valuation runs ahead of commercial deployment
Unitree is profitable, an uncommon position among humanoid robotics companies, but Reuters reported that few of its robots are operating in commercial environments. Many sales have been one off purchases by universities and research institutions rather than repeat deployments in factories or other workplaces.
The company has attracted global attention with robots that run, dance and perform martial arts. Those demonstrations have built visibility, but they provide limited evidence about reliability, autonomy or operating economics in sustained industrial use. The listing therefore gives Unitree a large financial advantage before its humanoid business has established a substantial commercial footprint.
Yan Kai, a partner at Shanghai venture capital firm Ivy Capital, described Unitree as a top tier player whose position commands a premium. He added that the share price was being shaped by political and economic considerations rather than conventional valuation models.
Public capital arrives with US restrictions
Founder Wang Xingxing retains around one fifth of Unitree following the offering, with his paper wealth exceeding $12 billion after the debut. The company’s investors include Tencent, Alibaba and DeepSeek, alongside state linked backing.
Unitree also faces tighter access to the US market. Reuters reported that the US Federal Communications Commission banned imports of future models of foreign made humanoid and quadruped robots in July, including Unitree products, citing national security concerns.
The Pentagon separately added Unitree to a list of Chinese military companies in June, calling it a contributor to China’s defense industrial base. The designation is not a sanction, but it limits future use of Unitree technology by the US military. Unitree has said its robots are intended for civilian use and did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The flotation could influence the financing prospects of other Chinese humanoid developers. Deep Robotics and Leju Robotics have applied to list on mainland exchanges, while Mech-Mind Robotics, X Square Robot and AgiBot are pursuing listings in Hong Kong.
Source: reuters.com
