Chinese robot maker Unitree Robotics opened subscriptions for its initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market earlier this week, seeking to raise approximately 6.10 billion yuan ($22 per share).
Capital Markets Embrace the Humanoid Surge
The Hangzhou-based company offered roughly 40.45 million shares, representing 10 percent of its post-offering share capital, according to financial disclosures reported by China Daily. Following the exclusion of invalid bids and top-tier pricing outliers, offline subscriptions surged to 71.46 billion shares. That figure represents 2,760.67 times the initial offline offering size.
Founded in 2016 as a civilian robotics company, Unitree has cultivated deep expertise in core robot parts, motion control, and robot sensing. Between 2023 and 2025, the firm sold 33,294 quadruped robots alongside 5,632 humanoid robots. Humanoid shipments alone surpassed 5,500 units in 2025, excluding wheeled dual-arm robots.
Here is why that financial momentum matters for global competitors: Unitree’s revenue scaled sharply from 159.13 million yuan in 2023 to 1.70 billion yuan by 2025. The company posted a net profit of 278.21 million yuan in 2025, while net profit attributable to the parent company after excluding non-recurring items reached 590.75 million yuan.
The Global Trade Dimension and the ‘New Three’
Domestic commercial milestones are just part of the story. Overseas sales accounted for 731.66 million yuan, or 43.65 percent of Unitree’s main-business revenue in 2025. But there is a broader economic shift underway across East Asia.
Robotics, AI-related products, and innovative drugs are rapidly establishing themselves as fresh engines of export growth. They follow on the heels of the earlier “new three” drivers: electric vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products. Customs data shows China transitioned into a net exporter of industrial robots for the first time in 2025. During the first half of 2026, industrial robot exports climbed 18.6 percent year-on-year to reach 6.29 billion yuan across 141 countries and regions. Meanwhile, intelligent biomimetic robot exports surpassed 10,000 units.
Minister of Science and Technology Yin Hejun has noted that these emerging sectors are developing rapidly, positioning them to become new pillar industries. This evolution signals a structural shift in China’s trade advantages, shifting global economic engagement from manufactured goods toward technologies, digital capabilities and services.
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Revenue | 159.13M Yuan | 392.77M Yuan | 1.70B Yuan |
| Net Profit | Not Disclosed | Not Disclosed | 278.21M Yuan |
| Quadruped Robots Sold | Cumulative (2023-2025 Total: 33,294) | Cumulative (2023-2025 Total: 33,294) | Cumulative (2023-2025 Total: 33,294) |
| Humanoid Robots Sold | Cumulative (2023-2025 Total: 5,632) | Cumulative (2023-2025 Total: 5,632) | 5,500+ Units (2025 alone) |
Deploying Capital for Next-Generation Research
Unitree intends to deploy approximately 4.20 billion yuan of the IPO proceeds across four projects. These include intelligent-robot model research, robot-body research and development, new intelligent-robot products, and an intelligent-robot manufacturing base.
Brokerages, including China Securities Co. Ltd. and Wanlian Securities, have identified 2026 as a key year for humanoid robot applications and commercialization. Analysts at China Securities point to improving generalization capabilities as the main catalyst moving robots out of laboratories and into industrial and consumer environments.
The regulatory path to the public markets proved exceptionally swift. After the Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted the application on March 20, the listing committee approved the offering on June 1—a span of just 73 days.
What does this rapid commercialization mean for your own industrial supply chain or investment strategy? Let us know your perspective in the comments below.
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