Chinese AI company DeepSeek is investing in humanoid robot manufacturer Unitree as part of Unitree's upcoming IPO in Shanghai, a move that underscores the increasingly tight links between large language models and physical robotics. The partnership reflects a broader global trend — companies such as Tesla, Figure AI, and Apptronik are similarly racing to pair advanced AI models with humanoid hardware, viewing embodied AI as a key frontier beyond text and image generation.

DeepSeek spent approximately $2.8 million to acquire 933,399 shares in the company. Beyond the equity stake, the two companies — both headquartered in Hangzhou, in the southeastern province of Zhejiang — have agreed to collaborate on developing AI models for humanoid robots. The partnership pairs DeepSeek's expertise in artificial intelligence with Unitree's strengths in motion control and mechanical engineering.

Under the agreement, Unitree has committed to giving DeepSeek priority when procuring model-training services and technical solutions. DeepSeek will reciprocate by granting Unitree priority when purchasing robots or exploring embodied AI applications.

Developing a functional "brain" — one capable of understanding unfamiliar environments and executing instructions safely and reliably — remains one of the most significant challenges in humanoid robotics, even as China has made substantial progress in the field over the past two years. For DeepSeek, whose success has been built largely on competitively priced large language models, access to Unitree's robotic platforms offers a valuable pathway into embodied AI. The company's demonstrated ability to train capable models at lower cost than many Western competitors could prove relevant for robotics, where on-device inference and real-time decision-making impose tight computational constraints.

Related: Google DeepMind Releases Gemini 2 Humanoid Model

Unitree has established itself as one of China's most prominent robot manufacturers. The company recently secured a deal with Nvidia to supply its H2 Plus humanoid bot for the chipmaker's new robotics research platform.

Unitree has been planning its public listing for some time, signaling its IPO intentions last September when the company was reportedly valued at around $7.4 billion. The current IPO now values Unitree at approximately $9.04 billion.

Alongside DeepSeek, other major investors include Tencent's investment arm, China National Petroleum's Kunlun Capital, and a unit of the state utility Southern Power Grid. Each of these three investors has contributed approximately $20 million. The participation of state-linked entities underscores the strategic importance China places on humanoid robotics, which has been designated a priority sector under national technology development plans.

Public subscriptions for the IPO open on August 10.

According to the IPO prospectus, Unitree's revenue more than quadrupled to nearly $252 million last year, with humanoid bots alone generating $128 million in sales. U.S. sales — prior to the FCC's ban on imported Chinese robots imposed last month — accounted for roughly 13% of total revenue.

However, growth has slowed this year amid an increasingly uncertain trading environment in the United States, highlighted by the robot import ban. The restriction is part of a wider pattern of U.S.-China technology controls that have expanded from semiconductors into adjacent sectors including connected devices and robotics.

Source: AI Business