Shares of Unitree, one of China’s largest humanoid robot makers, closed their first day of trading up more than 460%, showing strong investor interest in China’s robotics sector.
Unitree has raised about $900 million in its initial public offering on Shanghai’s STAR Market, the city’s body for technology startups, at a valuation of $9 billion. After today’s increase, Unitree is now worth around $66 billion, putting it ahead of larger Chinese tech companies like Baidu and JD.com. It is also worth more than the most valuable US robotics company, Figure AI, which won an award Valuation of $39 billion in a financing round in September 2025.
Unitree reported 1.7 billion yuan ($252 million) in revenue in 2025, with nearly 45% of that coming from overseas sales. The company also made a profit of 600 million yuan ($89 million) last year. Most of Unitree’s sales go toward research, although some Chinese technology companies and state-owned companies are beginning to explore using humanoid robots in their operations.
Unitree was supported by fellow Hangzhou startup DeepSeek, as well as major tech companies like Alibabagroup of ants and Tencentand several government-sponsored investment funds.
Nomura, which gave Unitree shares a “buy” rating on Wednesday, cited Unitree’s “rapid product iteration and continuous innovation” as the basis for a “first-mover advantage.”
Founded in 2016, the Hangzhou-based startup has quickly become something of a national champion in China’s robotics sector. Synchronized dance performances by its humanoid robots have become a key feature of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, China’s most-watched television show. In 2025, Unitree founder Wang Xingxing got a rare invitation to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping along with other tech giants such as Alibaba founder Jack Ma, BYD founder Wang Chuanfu and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng.
China’s robotics sector, particularly humanoids, is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Days before the listing, Unitree announced his “Superman” robotwhich was claimed to be capable of breaking human records for jump height and running speed.
Still, not everyone is convinced by predictions of an impending boom in humanoid robotics. “We believe the increase in shipments may be illusory for robot manufacturers.” HSBC analysts wrote in a report from mid-July. “Unless there is a significant improvement in the AI modeling capabilities of robot manufacturers, it is unlikely that the current upswing in humanoid robot shipments will continue in the next one to two years.”
Chinese AI and hardware IPOs are booming
Highly anticipated IPOs in China often see a sharp rise on the trading day. Regulators in mainland China are trying to keep IPO valuations low to protect retail investors if a newly listed stock doesn’t live up to the hype.
Shares of ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), one of the world’s largest memory chip makers, rose 460% on the first day of trading in Shanghai on July 27 after the company raised over $8 billion in its initial public offering. Since then, the company’s stock has continued to rise and it is now the most valuable Chinese company, ahead of tech giant Tencent.
One of Unitree’s domestic competitors, UBTech, went public in Hong Kong in late 2023. Another robotics startup, Agibot, is planning its own IPO in Hong Kong.
Other major AI and hardware companies considering an IPO in either Shanghai or Hong Kong include LLM developers Kimi, developers Moonshot AI and DeepSeek, memory chip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies, Baidu chip subsidiary Kunlunxin and Nvidia Competitor Moore Threads.
The US just banned foreign-made robots. Is this bad for Unitree?
The USA at the end of July a ban imposed on foreign-made robots, citing the risk to national security. (Models already sold in the U.S. are excluded.) That hits an important market for Unitree, which generated 18% of its sales in the U.S. last year. The Pentagon also placed Unitree on a list of “Chinese military companies,” companies that the U.S. believes have ties to Chinese forces.
“Access lost [to the U.S.] could have a noticeable impact [Unitree’s] Sales growth – especially because the company is one of the most successful Chinese companies in selling relatively inexpensive robots abroad.” wrote Morningstar analyst Kangyuxiao Li on August 18, the day before Unitree’s trading debut.
He adds that robotics companies like Unitree could not only lose a “large customer base in developed markets,” but could also lose valuable feedback from U.S. customers that could improve their products.
But the US robotics sector could be just as badly affected by Washington’s ban. Without access to cheap Chinese robots and components, robotics startups could struggle to develop and produce affordable products. Accordingly, some US startups even resort to carrying Chinese robotics components in their luggage The information.