Unitree debuted on Shanghai's STAR Market on August 19, the same day the 2026 World Robot Conference opened in Beijing, with shares surging 629.44% to 1,100 yuan ($163) at their peak before closing at 845 yuan — a 460.3% gain that valued the company at 341.77 billion yuan9.
The conference, a five-day event showcasing roughly 3,000 products, opened with no foreign exhibitors present at the venue1,3. Approximately 300 companies are exhibiting, including non-Chinese firms according to one source, though multiple other reports noted no sign of other countries exhibiting4.
Unitree, one of China's leading humanoid robot makers, drew crowds with models that boxed, danced, and played ping pong against a human opponent. The company also demonstrated its H1 humanoid robot, which can run at a peak speed of 10 meters per second. Unitree had previously unveiled the AS2-W wheel-legged quadruped robot in July, priced at approximately $36,700 ctx, and fell to second place in global humanoid robot shipments behind AgiBot in the first half of 2026 ctx.
Pan Helin said the IPO surge reflects robust investor confidence in China's embodied artificial intelligence industry. Wang Peng cautioned that an IPO is not the finish line, noting that humanoid robotics is a long-cycle industry where success cannot be measured by a blockbuster market debut or by burning cash to chase scale.
UBTech brought several industrial models to the conference floor, with some demonstrating tasks such as moving components around simulated factory spaces. The company also promoted humanoid robots with lifelike faces for emotional care. Jiao Jichao said one of UBTech's companion models can converse, make various facial expressions, rotate its neck, and move its hands, and is available to individual buyers at 168,000 yuan (over $24,000). UBTech had separately unveiled the UWORLD U1 family on June 30, with prices ranging from about $17,600 for the semi-torso U1 Lite to $145,800 for the U1 Ultra male version, and reported 13,361 orders with first deliveries in China scheduled for September 168.
Galbot unveiled a new humanoid robot capable of learning to play tennis. At one booth, a robot attempted to fold a shirt but could not complete the task after several minutes.
The conference's commercial undertone was reinforced by industry data. Xin Guobin said revenue from major robotics companies reached 165.5 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a 24.5% year-on-year increase. The National Development and Reform Commission said eight out of every ten humanoid and quadruped intelligent robots sold worldwide are made in China. JPMorgan forecast that global humanoid robot shipments will climb from an estimated 18,000 units in 2025 to 60,000 in 2026, before reaching 1.75 million by 2030, with China expected to account for more than half of global demand.
The conference opened weeks after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission announced a ban on imports of new foreign-made humanoid robots and power inverters, citing national security risks in a move targeting China. The FCC prohibition also covers new imports of quadruped robots, with the agency asserting that advanced robotics could present severe cybersecurity risks.
Xu Xiaolan said embodied AI is entering a critical window for large-scale adoption, with Chinese products at a pivotal juncture transitioning from small-batch trials to broader deployment. The South China Morning Post reported that the overriding sentiment among executives, investors, and policymakers at this year's summit was starkly pragmatic13. ANALYSIS The juxtaposition of Unitree's record IPO pop with demonstrations where a robot failed to fold a shirt captures the gap between capital-market enthusiasm and current commercial readiness that multiple conference participants flagged.