Unitree Robotics surges 629% after US$904 million Shanghai IPO
The Chinese startup’s listing comes as firms shift attention beyond foundation models to real-world applications
Unitree Robotics shares surged 629 percent in its Shanghai IPO debut, raising 6.1 billion yuan (US$904 million) and becoming the first publicly traded humanoid robot maker in mainland China. The Hangzhou-based company, officially known as Yushu Technology, saw its shares rise from 150.8 yuan to 1,100 yuan, with 40.4 million shares sold.
The offering tapped into growing investor interest in physical AI companies as attention shifts from foundation models to real-world AI applications. Unitree's retail order book surpassed the 7.07 trillion yuan of bids generated by memory-chip giant CXMT, underscoring the demand for such companies. Analysts expect humanoid robot shipments to grow to 60,000 units in 2025 and 1.75 million units by 2030, with China accounting for more than half of global demand.
Unitree shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, ranking first globally, and its revenue and net profit have surged significantly since 2024. The company plans to use a portion of the IPO proceeds for embodied AI model development and expanding manufacturing. The strategic investors backing Unitree include AI startup DeepSeek, Tencent-affiliated entities, and state-owned enterprises, which will collaborate on robotics intelligence models and deployment scenarios.
If the optimism surrounding Unitree's IPO proves justified, it could signal a shift in how investors view the commercial potential of embodied AI and humanoid robots.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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