Unitree Robotics Shares Surge 460% in Record Shanghai IPO

Humanoid robot manufacturer Unitree Robotics debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market on August 19, 2026, with shares surging as much as 629% before closing 460% higher at 845 yuan. The listing valued the company at approximately $50 billion and increased the paper wealth of founder Wang Xingxing to between $12 billion and $16 billion. The initial public offering raised approximately 6.1 billion yuan ($900 million to $910 million) and was oversubscribed by retail investors more than 8,000 times.

The market debut coincided with the World Robot Conference in Beijing and the unveiling of Superman, a high-speed humanoid robot capable of reaching 12.66 meters per second and performing a two-meter vertical jump. Unitree, based in Hangzhou and backed by Tencent, Alibaba, and DeepSeek, reported 2025 revenue of 1.7 billion yuan and a net profit of 278 million yuan. The company holds roughly one-third of the global market share for humanoid robots.

Despite its domestic success, Unitree faces significant geopolitical challenges in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots in July 2026, while the Pentagon designated Unitree as a contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base, barring direct military contracts. Unitree has maintained that its robots are for civilian use. The company plans to use its IPO proceeds to expand manufacturing bases and invest in robot hardware and embodied AI.