China’s Unitree set for record IPO as humanoid robot industry takes off

China’s Unitree, the world’s largest humanoid robot maker by sales, is set to make its Shanghai stock market debut on August 19 after raising 6.1 billion yuan ($905 million) in an initial public offering that was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed.

The record demand on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market highlights investor enthusiasm for China’s rapidly expanding robotics industry, which Beijing sees as a strategic technology sector, CNN writes. 

Founded in Hangzhou in 2016, Unitree gained international attention with humanoid robots performing dancing, martial arts and other acrobatic routines. On August 17, the company unveiled a new humanoid robot called “Superman”, which it said can jump up to two metres and run at 12.66 metres per second.

Unitree became particularly prominent after its robots appeared at China’s annual Lunar New Year gala last year. Founder Wang Xingxing later attended a symposium hosted by President Xi Jinping with leading technology companies.

The IPO will make Unitree the first humanoid robot maker listed on mainland China. Chinese competitors including UBTECH and Dobot are listed in Hong Kong, while Agibot is also pursuing a Hong Kong IPO.

“Unitree IPO is regarded as a key milestone for the humanoid industry and can serve as a benchmark for other IPOs in the pipeline,” said Ethan Qi, associate director at Counterpoint Research.

China already accounts for the majority of global humanoid robot sales, far outpacing US competitors such as Tesla, Figure AI and Boston Dynamics. Beijing has invested heavily in the sector as economic growth slows and the country’s workforce shrinks, describing humanoid robots as a major frontier for future industries.

Unitree’s business has expanded rapidly. Its revenue increased more than tenfold in two years to nearly 1.7 billion yuan ($252 million) in 2025, according to its prospectus. The company reported a net profit of 278 million yuan ($41 million) and sold more than 5,500 humanoid robots globally last year.

Robot dogs, however, remain an important part of its business, accounting for about 42% of revenue last year. Research and educational institutions made up most of Unitree’s humanoid robot sales, while industrial deployments accounted for less than 10% during the first three quarters of 2025.

“Unitree has demonstrated strong technology and commercial traction, but moving from demonstrations and early deployments to widespread industrial adoption will take time,” said Kangyuxiao Li, an equity analyst at Morningstar.

The company plans to use proceeds from the IPO to fund research and development into embodied AI models and robot hardware, as well as expand manufacturing capacity.

Experts say Unitree still faces technological challenges. Its strengths are largely concentrated in hardware and motion control, while further investment is needed in embodied AI, which provides robots with their decision-making capabilities.

A partnership between Unitree and Nvidia was announced in June to support research and development.

Geopolitical tensions could also limit the company’s growth. Unitree was added to a US government blacklist of Chinese military-linked companies in June and barred from doing business with the Pentagon.

Washington also moved last month to ban new humanoid and quadruped robot imports from foreign manufacturers, citing national security concerns. More than 40% of Unitree’s revenue comes from overseas markets.

The company warned in its prospectus that continued US restrictions “may be unable to sustain rapid growth in overseas sales and could even see its performance decline”.

Beyond geopolitical risks, analysts say Unitree must demonstrate that its robots can move from high-profile demonstrations to reliable, large-scale use across industries.

By Sabina Mammadli