DeepSeek has acquired a strategic stake in humanoid robot manufacturer Unitree Robotics as the Hangzhou-based company launched its initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market—the first listing in the humanoid robotics sector on mainland China's exchanges. Unitree priced its shares at 150.8 yuan each, reaching a valuation of $9 billion and raising $900 million, well above its initial target.

DeepSeek invested $20.8 million for 933,399 shares, representing 2.31% of the strategically placed allocation. These shares are subject to a 36-month lock-up period. Fellow strategic investors included Tencent, Kunlun Capital (affiliated with CNPC), a Southern Power Grid subsidiary, China Telecom, Citic Securities, and the National Council for Social Security Fund, with each contributing comparable amounts. The breadth of state-linked and technology-sector backers underscores Beijing's policy push to build domestic leadership in embodied intelligence, a field China's government has designated a strategic priority alongside semiconductors and large AI models.

The IPO positions Unitree as a valuation benchmark for China's rapidly expanding embodied-AI sector. However, the company faces geopolitical headwinds: U.S. sales accounted for 13.3% of 2025 revenue, and future models could face exclusion under tightening American trade restrictions targeting Chinese robotics technology. Unitree gained wider international attention in early 2025 when several of its H1 humanoid robots performed a synchronized yangge folk dance at China's Spring Festival Gala, a showcase that highlighted the company's progress in coordinated multi-robot control.

Joint Development Pact Targets Robot Cognition and Embodied Intelligence

Beyond the capital investment, DeepSeek and Unitree have signed a formal co-development agreement to build AI models and embodied-intelligence systems. Both firms are headquartered in Hangzhou and plan to combine DeepSeek's large language-model expertise with Unitree's capabilities in mechanical engineering, motion control, and hardware design. DeepSeek attracted global attention in January 2025 when its R1 reasoning model demonstrated competitive performance against leading Western AI systems while being trained at a fraction of the reported cost, establishing the lab as a credible force in open-weight model development.

Under the partnership, Unitree will prioritize DeepSeek for model-training services and technical solutions, while DeepSeek will in turn favor Unitree for robot procurement and embodied-AI research initiatives. The collaboration targets a core challenge in humanoid robotics: developing a dependable cognitive "brain" that can interpret unfamiliar environments and convert high-level instructions into precise physical movements. The global humanoid robotics field includes competitors such as Tesla's Optimus program, Figure AI, Agility Robotics, and Apptronik, all of which are racing to pair advanced AI models with capable physical platforms.

Unitree intends to direct 85% of IPO proceeds toward research and development—spanning robot software, hardware architecture, and new product lines—with the remaining 15% allocated to manufacturing expansion.

The company's R&D focus is already reflected in its financial results. Although 2025 revenue quadrupled to approximately $252 million and humanoid robot sales surpassed quadruped products as the largest revenue stream, first-quarter 2026 profit excluding one-off items dropped 52.6% to roughly $6 million amid accelerated research and marketing spending.

By securing DeepSeek's three-year equity commitment and designating it as a co-developer, Unitree has effectively enlisted one of China's most prominent AI model labs to help architect its cognitive technology stack.

Source: Metaverse Post