Shares of Unitree Robotics, a leading Chinese humanoid robot maker, surged more than 620% in their trading debut on Shanghai's STAR Market, pushing the company's market capitalization to 445 billion yuan (approximately $66 billion). The IPO marked the first time a humanoid robot company has listed on the Chinese mainland.
By the close of trading on Wednesday, Unitree's shares on the STAR Market — the exchange tailored for high-tech enterprises — ended up 460% from their issue price. The Hangzhou-based company set its IPO price at 50.8 yuan per share, implying a valuation of about 61 billion yuan ($9 billion).
Unitree's main competitors include China's AgiBot, as well as U.S.-based Tesla and Boston Dynamics. Founded in 2016 by engineer Wang Xingxing, Unitree gained global attention through viral videos of its robots dancing and performing martial arts.
Last year, the company said it shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots to customers worldwide, making it one of the early pioneers in commercializing the technology.
Just two days before the IPO, Unitree unveiled its latest humanoid robot, called “Superman,” which it claims can jump 2 meters high and run at speeds of 12.66 meters per second.
Rinat Mirzaitov, founder of analytics firm Humanoid Analytics, said the buzz around Unitree reflects its prominent standing in a field with few true players. “It is one of the few humanoid robot companies with actual revenue, profits, and substantial output,” he told Al Jazeera.
However, Mirzaitov also cautioned that while Unitree is strong in research, education, and development, it has yet to dominate the entire humanoid robot market. “Their main challenge is to turn their hardware and manufacturing strengths into advantages in applications and operational processes,” he added.
Robots are becoming a major battleground in the technology race between the United States and China. Last month, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ban on imports of Chinese-made humanoid robots, citing national security risks.
According to JP Morgan, China currently controls about three-quarters of the global humanoid robot and autonomous vehicle market. Financial industry analyses led by JP Morgan project that global sales of humanoid robots could reach $300 billion by 2035, up sharply from $2 billion in 2025.
