China's Unitree unveils 'Superman' robot as fervour builds ahead of Shanghai debut

China's Unitree robotics unveiled a high-speed humanoid robot dubbed "Superman" on Monday, just days before the company's debut as the first general-purpose robotics firm to list on mainland China's stock market. Unitree, the world's largest producer of humanoid robots by sales, began trading in Shanghai on Wednesday following a successful initial public offering that raised 6.1 billion yuan ($905 million) last week.

The company, headquartered in Hangzhou, completed development of the new robot in less than three months. It can jump 2 meters and reach a top speed of 12.66 meters per second, showcasing its agility. The launch of the "Superman" robot aligns with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Beijing, attracting investor interest to a company whose robots have garnered global attention for their capabilities in running, dancing, and even martial arts.

Unitree's IPO was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors, a record for Shanghai's technology-focused STAR Market. As of July, the company had produced and delivered approximately 18,000 bipedal humanoid robots across various models. The robot remains a work in progress, with potential for further improvements in the coming months.

Founder Wang Xingxing gained national prominence after attending a summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping for leading technology entrepreneurs the previous year. The startup enjoys the backing of major Chinese tech companies, including Tencent, Alibaba, and DeepSeek. Pre-listing trading in offshore markets suggests a strong debut for Unitree, and its shares may further benefit from a broader recovery in Chinese technology stocks following a recent selloff.

The STAR50 Index, a key benchmark for Chinese technology stocks, has rebounded about 15% from a three-month low reached in early August.