Unitree IPO latest: Chinese robotics company’s stock price will be closely watched in record-breaking trading debut

This week, the spotlight is on Unitree Robotics, a Chinese company expected to go public in a highly anticipated IPO on Wednesday. The robotics firm, which specializes in humanoid and four-legged robots, is the world's largest maker of humanoid robots. Unitree is best known for its dancing robots and those that have mastered kung-fu moves.

The company, based in Hangzhou, China, was founded in 2016 and plans to list on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, a market similar to the Nasdaq. Shares will initially trade at around $22 each, with the IPO already generating over $900 million and being over 8,000 times oversubscribed, a record for the STAR Market. The IPO comes on the heels of the FCC effectively banning foreign-made humanoid robots, citing national security concerns.

While this may have been an effort to protect U.S. robotics companies, the market for these robots is dominated by Chinese competitors. According to a June 2026 report from Counterpoint Research, Unitree's IPO could be a key battleground in the ongoing AI and technological race between the U.S. and China. The report argues that China may win by producing enough robots at low cost to amass real-world data and enhance the intelligence layer of their robots.