Unitree Shares Surge More Than 600% in Stock Market Debut
Key Takeaways
- •Unitree is the world’s biggest humanoid robot maker by sales and raised about $905 million in its IPO.
- •The company’s shares rose more than 600% in Wednesday trading after the listing.
- •The IPO was oversubscribed more than 8,000 times, a record for the Shanghai STAR Market.
- •DeepSeek contributed about $20.8 million to the offering, and Tencent is also an existing investor.
- •Unitree recently launched a humanoid model called Superman that it says can jump more than 6 feet and run at up to 28 mph.
Chinese robotics maker Unitree made a striking debut on China's stock market, with its shares surging more than 600% in Wednesday trading.
The company, the world's biggest humanoid robot maker by sales, raised about $905 million in its IPO, according to its prospectus. Demand far outstripped supply: the offering was oversubscribed more than 8,000 times, a record for the tech-focused Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR Market.
Chinese AI vendor DeepSeek was listed as an investor in a company filing, contributing about $20.8 million to the IPO. It joins existing investor Tencent, the Chinese tech giant.
The Hangzhou-based company has built a global following with its highly mobile androids, which have been shown in videos backflipping, performing martial arts and dancing.
Ahead of the IPO, Unitree launched its latest humanoid model. Dubbed "Superman," the new design is touted for its speed and mobility, capable of jumping more than 6 feet from a standing position and running at up to 28 mph.
In a post on X, Unitree said the android "surpass[es] the standing high jump and running speed records of all humans around the world."
Related: LG to Release Nvidia-Powered Humanoid in 2027
China has long dominated the humanoid robotics market, with the sector identified as a key growth market by the Beijing government. Chinese firms make up the vast majority of global sales, outpacing their American competitors, including Boston Dynamics and Tesla. Unitree's listing adds another public-market benchmark for a sector that is increasingly being measured not just by prototype demonstrations, but by orders, shipments and investor demand.
The trend is set to continue, with Chinese humanoid robot output forecast to grow 94% in 2026. Unitree and robot maker Agibot together are expected to account for nearly 80% of these shipments, underscoring how concentrated the supply base remains even as the category expands.
Intensifying competition with the U.S. market came to a head earlier this month, when the FCC banned imports of foreign-made robots — a move that has been met with criticism from Beijing as a protectionist strategy.
