Unitree Robotics, the world's largest humanoid robot maker, made a spectacular debut on China's stock market Wednesday, with shares surging more than 600% before settling at a gain of nearly 500%.
The Hangzhou-based company, officially known as Yushu Technology Co, priced its IPO at 150.8 yuan ($22.4) per share, raising $900 million and valuing the company at 61 billion yuan. Shares soared to as high as 1,100 yuan on their first day of trading.
The massive debut reflects surging investor appetite for China's humanoid robotics sector. The market for human-like robots is expected to grow from around $2 billion in 2025 to $300 billion by 2035, according to analyst projections.
Unitree has gained global fame through viral videos of its robots performing martial arts, running at Olympic speeds, and serving as backup dancers for pop stars. The company shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots last year.
The IPO was met with exceptional demand from Chinese retail investors, with the non-professional investor tranche oversubscribed by thousands. Unitree is one of the few publicly listed humanoid robot makers in the world; its biggest competitor AgiBot remains private, while smaller rival UBTech is listed in Hong Kong.
At least half a dozen other Chinese humanoid robotic businesses are preparing to go public, including Deep Robotics and Leju Robotics, signaling a broader IPO wave in the sector.
Unitree's market debut coincided with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Beijing, where hundreds of companies are showcasing new products. However, the company faces geopolitical headwinds: the US FCC banned imports of future foreign-made humanoid robots in July, and the Pentagon added Unitree to a list of Chinese military companies, which Unitree has denied.
Founder Wang Xingxing, who retains about a fifth of the company, saw his paper net worth surge to over $12 billion. Unitree is backed by Tencent and Alibaba.
