Chinese robotmaker Unitree goes public, stock surges 600% on opening day

Unitree has become the first robotmaker to go public in mainland China. The company saw its shares rise over 600 per cent on the first day of trading despite Chinese benchmark indexes showing a decline.Unitree's shares went up by over 600 per cent as the company went public. (Photo: Unitree R1 robot)Chinese robotmaker Unitree made its stock market debut earlier today via an initial public offering (IPO). During trading Unitree’s share price increased by as much as 629 per cent as the company raised 6.1 billion yuan ($904 million). The company is the first humanoid robotmaker to have gone public in mainland China.Unitree’s shares rose from the IPO price of 150.8 yuan to as high as 1,100 yuan on the technology-focused STAR Market in Shanghai. The jump was far above the average first-day rise for new listings in China this year, and came on a day when Chinese benchmark indexes fell. Unitree sold 40.4 million shares, or about 10 per cent of the company, in the offering.A day before its listing, Unitree had unveiled a new “Superman” robot. The company claimed that this robot had a top speed of 12.66m/s and could jump as high as 2 m. This may make the robot faster than Olympic medalist Usain Bolt if it can sustain this pace for 100m.Unitree New Robot Preview: “Superman” Breaking the Limits of HumanityStanding high jump 2 m, top speed 12.66 m/s (0.85 m leg length)Surpassing the standing high jump and running speed records of all humans around the worldThis new machine has only been in development for a pic.twitter.com/12i80ITU6p— Unitree (@UnitreeRobotics) August 17, 2026What is Unitree?The robotmaker is seen as a major player in China’s robotics sector, which Beijing is backing as part of its push into strategic technologies. In the past, Unitree has drawn attention for robots that run, dance and perform martial arts, and its humanoid robots appeared at China’s annual Spring Festival Gala. The company said in its prospectus that it shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots last year, ranking first globally, while cumulative sales of its quadruped robots crossed 33,000 units.The listing comes as embodied artificial intelligence, or AI systems used in physical machines, draws increasing attention from investors and policymakers. Humanoid robots are considered vital for the future as the US and China continue to invest heavily in this space. Unitree’s IPO valued the company at 35.89 times sales, above listed peers in Hong Kong such as UBTech Robotics and Shenzhen Dobot Corp which trade at about 20 times sales. The company plans to use about 4.2 billion yuan ($622 million) from the IPO for embodied AI model development, humanoid robot research, new products and manufacturing expansion.Around 20 per cent of the IPO was allocated to strategic investors, including AI startup DeepSeek, a Tencent-affiliated investment vehicle and investment arms of major state-owned enterprises. DeepSeek received a 2.31 per cent stake with a three-year lock-up period.Unitree’s listing is also being watched because several Chinese robotics firms, including Leju Robotics and Deep Robotics, are preparing for IPOs, while another developer, AgiBot, is reportedly planning a Hong Kong listing.As per JPMorgan analysts, the “mass-production inflection point appears close” for humanoid robots, with forecasts for global shipments to rise to 60,000 this year and 1.75 million units by 2030, from 18,000 units in 2025. China is expected to account for more than half of global demand.- EndsPublished By: Armaan AgarwalPublished On: Aug 19, 2026 12:03 IST