Unitree hits scale, eyes Shanghai IPO
Unitree says it sold about 5,500 humanoids last year and is moving toward a rare Shanghai IPO as Beijing pushes for automation scale—while a Unitree biped was also spotted interacting with kids in New York, showing public deployment in real-world settings. The combo underscores China’s push to commercialize low‑cost humanoids at volume. (reuters.com)
The Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted Unitree’s STAR Market IPO application on March 20, 2026, with the company proposing to raise RMB 4.202 billion (about $607–610 million). (english.sse.com.cn) Unitree’s IPO prospectus shows revenue of roughly 1.708–1.71 billion yuan for 2025 and net profit of about 287.6 million yuan, figures the company says represent year‑on‑year surges (operating income +335% and net profit up nearly 674% in its filings). (cnbc.com) (bloomberg.com) The prospectus attributes a shift in Unitree’s revenue mix to humanoids—rising to 51.5% of main business revenue in January–September 2025 from 27.6% in 2024—and reports the average selling price of its humanoid units fell to about 167,600 yuan in the first three quarters of 2025. (cnbc.com) (bloomberg.com) Unitree founder Wang Xingxing holds a 23.8% direct stake and close to 69% of voting rights, while outside backers named in reporting include Meituan, HongShan China (formerly Sequoia China) and Matrix Partners China among other corporate and city‑backed investors. (scmp.com) In a January 22, 2026 clarification, Unitree said its 2025 mass‑production output exceeded 6,500 humanoid units and provided context distinguishing shipped units from order backlog in its public figures. (prnewswire.com) The company told investors the IPO proceeds would be used to fund research into AI models for robotics, develop new products and expand manufacturing capacity, a strategy that aligns with Beijing’s stated push to back “future industries” including robotics and embodied AI. (bloomberg.com) (cnbc.com)
