Unitree’s Shanghai IPO Sees 5,526x Retail Subscription
The initial public offering of Unitree Robotics has generated significant interest among retail investors, as the prominent humanoid robot manufacturer in China initiated its offering, which is projected to result in a market valuation of $9 billion. The retail portion of the IPO saw a remarkable subscription rate of 5,526 times, with individual investors placing approximately 9.8 million orders for around 8.1 trillion yuan of shares, as per calculations derived from an exchange filing made public on Monday. That surpasses the 7.1 trillion-yuan retail order book recorded in memory chipmaker CXMT Corp’s remarkable offering last month, marking the second-largest debut in China’s history. The Hangzhou-based company sold 40.4 million shares at 150.8 yuan apiece, raising approximately 6.1 billion yuan to become mainland China’s first publicly traded humanoid robot maker.
Unitree, officially referred to as Yushu Technology Co., is anticipated to make its debut on Shanghai’s STAR Market this month. China is increasingly utilising the capital market to finance its technological competition with the US in artificial intelligence. Humanoid robots have emerged as a strategic priority for Beijing, with Unitree positioned as a significant contributor, particularly noted for its dancing robots showcased at the annual Spring Festival Gala, which have garnered global attention. The high level of interest underscores the investor appetite for physical AI companies, one of Beijing’s strategic priorities. Unitree is kicking off what might be the next wave of China technology IPOs, to follow a string of debuts by companies along the AI supply chain that culminated with CXMT raising 66.6 billion yuan last month and subsequently becoming the largest mainland-listed company.
A successful listing could also build momentum for other Chinese robotics companies pursuing IPOs, including Leju Robotics and Deep Robotics. Another humanoid robot developer, Shanghai AgiBot Innovation Technology, has initiated the process for a Hong Kong listing, as reported by Securities Daily in July. The retail enthusiasm puts Unitree on track for a potential first-day pop, following some hot recent tech debuts. The IPOs of companies such as MiniMax Group Inc., Moore Threads Technology Co., MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co., and Z.AI – previously referred to as Zhipu – experienced subscriptions exceeding 1,000 times, with shares commencing trading at substantial gains. The strong subscription was also likely aided by backing from strategic investors including AI startup DeepSeek, reinforcing confidence in Unitree and the growing convergence of artificial intelligence and robotics.
Approximately 20% of the shares available for purchase have been designated for strategic investors, which include DeepSeek, an investment entity affiliated with Tencent Holdings Ltd., as well as investment branches of prominent state-owned enterprises such as China National Petroleum Corp., China Southern Power Grid Co., and China Telecom Corp. DeepSeek has been allocated a stake of 2.31%, accompanied by a lockup period of three years. The collaboration enables Unitree to leverage DeepSeek’s AI capabilities to advance embodied-intelligence models for its humanoid robots, which garnered significant public interest following their appearance in a Chinese Spring Festival gala. Unitree’s IPO values the company at 35.89 times sales, according to the company’s prospectus. That compares with ratios of about 20 for industry peers listed in Hong Kong such as UBTech Robotics Corp. and Shenzhen Dobot Corp. Unitree distinguishes itself in the industry by adopting a business model that emphasises substantial cost and performance benefits thru the design of integrated, in-house actuators, rather than relying on the assembly of components sourced from various suppliers.
By implementing a vertical integration strategy throughout its product range, akin to carmaker BYD Co., the company effectively reduces costs and increases sales volume. However, it must still merge this hardware success with enhanced robotic intelligence and software applications. The company shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots last year, securing the top position globally, as stated in its prospectus. Cumulative sales of its quadruped robots exceeded 33,000 units. Revenue surged to 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, up from 393 million yuan the previous year, according to its prospectus. Net profit was 278 million yuan last year, while its gross margin exceeded 60%. “From a conventional valuation standpoint, Unitree’s valuation is clearly above what would be considered a reasonable range,” said Shen Meng. “But for companies in emerging industries, especially those with a leading scale advantage, growth metrics often matter more than traditional financial metrics.”
