Shares in Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree soar in its Shanghai trading debut

Visitors watch robots demonstrate boxing moves at a booth of Unitree, one of China's largest humanoid robot makers, during the World Robot Conference at the Beijing Yichuang International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Beijing, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

HONG KONG — Shares of Unitree, one of China’s largest humanoid robot makers, initially soared as much as 629 per cent in its public stock trading debut Wednesday in Shanghai, in the latest highlight of investor optimism over China’s technological advances.

The company, founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Wang Xingxing in the eastern Chinese technology hub of Hangzhou, raised around 6.1 billion yuan (US$904 million) in its listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-style STAR market. The shares were priced at 150.80 yuan (US$22.36) a share. Its shares closed 460 per cent higher at 84 per cent yuan (US$125.31).

Advanced robotics, often referred to as “embodied” artificial intelligence, is a key sector in the heated technology rivalry between China and the U.S. China leads the U.S. in terms of production capacity of humanoid robots and the ability to scale up manufacturing.

Last year, of the roughly 15,000 humanoid robots shipped globally, Unitree and AGIBOT, another major Chinese humanoid robot maker, each shipped more than 5,000, according to technology research and advisory group Omdia, way ahead of their U.S. counterparts. For the first half of 2026, Omdia’s estimates put Chinese humanoid robot makers’ total global shipments at around 18,500 units.

But analysts say for now, many of these humanoid robots are still mainly used for demonstrations, performances and research rather than real-world applications. Unitree’s humanoid robots, for example, dazzled audiences at China’s annual Spring Festival gala by performing backflips and martial arts.

“The real competitive test will be whether companies – Chinese or American – can achieve reliable performance and attractive returns on investment in large-scale industrial and commercial deployments,” analyst Kangyuxiao Li at investment research firm Morningstar said in a commentary.

Unitree said proceeds from the IPO will be used for advanced robot research and development and development of its robot manufacturing base.

The company is the first publicly traded humanoid robotics maker in mainland China. Analysts believe the IPO could set a precedent for valuations of other robotic company stock offerings.

It “gives mainland investors direct exposure to one of the sector’s leading companies,” said Li at Morningstar.

Unitree’s debut coincided with the World Robot Conference in Beijing, featuring more than 300 exhibitors. Chinese leaders made robots a development priority.

UBTech, another major Chinese humanoid robot maker, has shares traded in Hong Kong. Its shares fell more than 10 per cent on Wednesday.

Unitree reported about 1.7 billion yuan (about US$250 million) in revenue in 202 per cent, mainly from sales of its humanoid robots and quadruped robots, often referring to four-legged robot dogs. More than 40 per cent of that revenue was from overseas.

Last year, the U.S. accounted for roughly 13 per cent of Unitree’s revenue, the company said. But that was before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots in July on national security grounds.

Unitree cautioned that the U.S. ban, which it said applies to its new models, could affect its future sales in the U.S. market. Existing models of its advanced robots can still be sold, but Unitree faces the risk that the U.S. could further expand its restrictions.

Lian Jye Su of Omdia said Chinese robot makers will likely seek to expand in major markets outside of the U.S., such as Europe.

Chan Ho-him, The Associated Press