Unitree Robotics formally launched its initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market on July 30, aiming to raise 4.2 billion yuan ($620 million) at an implied valuation of 42 billion yuan7,4. The Hangzhou-based maker of humanoid and quadruped robots plans to sell 40.45 million shares, representing 10 percent of its enlarged share capital1,12. Institutional price inquiries are scheduled for August 5, with the offer price set August 6 and online and offline subscriptions opening August 108,10.
The IPO arrives days after the US Federal Communications Commission added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices — defined to include mobile robots such as humanoids and quadrupeds — to its Covered List on July 28. Unitree said its current robots hold FCC certification, but warned that future models could lose access to the US market and that further tightening could disrupt already-approved products. The company's prospectus shows US sales accounted for 18.39%, 19.54%, and 13.30% of revenue across its three reporting periods, while overseas revenue exceeded 40% each time.
The CSRC approved Unitree's registration on July 2, just 104 days after the Shanghai Stock Exchange accepted the listing application in March — described as the fastest STAR Market review on record. Caixin reported the speed underscores Beijing's push to fast-track capital market access for strategic AI and robotics companies.
Unitree's financials distinguish it from most humanoid robotics peers. The company booked revenue of approximately 1.7 billion yuan ($251 million) in 2025, up from 393 million yuan a year earlier, with adjusted profits of 591 million yuan. Gross margins run near 60%11. Humanoid robots became the core business in 2024, accounting for 52% of revenue, though average selling prices for humanoids fell from 590,000 yuan to 166,400 yuan per unit — reflecting a volume-over-price strategy. The company shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots to end customers in 2025.
However, newly disclosed first-half 2026 data shows revenue growth decelerating to approximately 40%, down from 332% in the year-earlier period, while adjusted net profit is expected to decline 6% to 22% year-on-year due to rising R&D and sales expenses. Proposed IPO proceeds are earmarked primarily for robot AI model research, robot-body development, new robot products, and a smart-robot manufacturing base, with 85% directed to R&D3.
After the listing, founder Wang Xingxing and related parties will hold 31.29% of shares and 65.31% of voting rights.
The Pentagon added Unitree to its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies in June, a designation that cuts off direct Defense Department contracting and is set to reach indirect procurement from 2027.
Unitree's public debut lands in a sector flush with private capital. Figure AI self-reported closing $1 billion in Series C funding at a $39 billion valuation last fall2. Apptronik closed a $935 million round valuing the company at more than $5.5 billion. Agility Robotics, based in Salem, Oregon, announced plans to go public through a SPAC merger with Churchill Capital Corp XI at a $2.5 billion valuation, expected to raise more than $620 million in gross proceeds. That deal still requires shareholder approval and SEC review.
ANALYSIS Unitree's listing would provide the first daily-priced public market benchmark for a pure-play humanoid robotics company, creating a reference point against which private valuations — including Figure AI's $39 billion — can be measured. The simultaneous tightening of US market access via the FCC Covered List and the Pentagon's Section 1260H designation narrows Unitree's addressable market at the same moment it seeks public capital to scale production and R&D.