Unitree wins approval for Shanghai IPO in robotics test case
China approved Unitree’s Shanghai IPO, a robotics listing that could raise 4.202 billion yuan and test investor demand for humanoid robots.
China’s securities regulator approved Unitree Robotics’ registration for a Shanghai STAR Market initial public offering, clearing a key hurdle for one of the country’s most closely watched technology listings. The approval is valid for 12 months, and the company’s filings show the deal could raise 4.202 billion yuan, or about $619.4 million, through the sale of at least 40,446,434 shares. No launch date or price range had been set.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market page shows the application was accepted on March 20, reviewed by the listing committee on June 1 and submitted for registration on June 2. Unitree’s prospectus says the proceeds will go toward robot AI model research, robot body research, new product development and a smart robot manufacturing base. That use of funds puts the listing squarely inside Beijing’s broader push to channel capital toward strategic hard-tech sectors, with humanoid robotics now being treated as a test case for whether public markets can finance the next wave of AI-enabled industrial hardware.
Unitree has built its brand around visibility as much as engineering. The company was founded in Hangzhou on August 26, 2016, and says it began promoting general-purpose footed and humanoid robots in 2017. Its robots have appeared at the 2021 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, the 2022 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, the 2023 Super Bowl pre-game show and the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, turning the company into a familiar name well beyond China’s robotics sector.
The filings also show how fast the business has grown. Xinhua said Unitree’s revenue rose from 159 million yuan in 2023 to 393 million yuan in 2024 and nearly 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, with first-half 2026 revenue expected to land between 1.052 billion yuan and 1.128 billion yuan. Other market disclosures based on the prospectus put 2025 revenue at 1.708 billion yuan and net profit after non-recurring items at 600 million yuan, up 674% from a year earlier. Unitree’s filing says it was the world’s No. 1 humanoid-robot shipper in 2025.
The ownership structure underscores how tightly the company remains centered on its founder. The CSRC filing identifies Wang Xingxing as Unitree’s founder, legal representative and actual controller, with direct and indirect control of 34.7630% of the company. Unitree’s rise from a Hangzhou startup to a STAR Market candidate now offers a live read on investor appetite for embodied AI, and on how far China is willing to push public capital toward robotics as a strategic industry.
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