[News] China’s Leading Robotics Firm Unitree Reportedly Files for IPO; Seeks to Raise ~4.2B Yuan
China’s leading robotics company, known for its robots’ high-profile dance performance at China’s Spring Festival Gala, is reportedly moving toward a public listing. According to South China Morning Post, Unitree Robotics has filed for a long-anticipated IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, aiming to raise about 4.2 billion yuan (US$607.8 million).
The company was valued at 12.7 billion yuan in its latest funding round in June 2025, and the report notes that market observers expect its valuation to exceed 100 billion yuan post-IPO. Unitree has attracted a broad base of high-profile investors, including Meituan, HongShan China. Tech giants such as Tencent, Alibaba, Ant Group, Xiaomi, and ByteDance have also invested, directly or indirectly, alongside industrial players including BYD and Geely, as well as state-backed funds from cities such as Shanghai and Beijing.
Financially, Unitree reached its first profitability milestone in 2024, posting net income of 94.5 million yuan on revenue of 392 million yuan. In the first nine months of 2025, net profit rose to 105.3 million yuan, while adjusted net profit surged 674% year over year to 600 million yuan last year. Gross margins in its core business have continued to improve, approaching 60% in 2025, with humanoid robots delivering even higher margins.
The financial picture appears solid, but the report notes that some analysts have raised concerns about its R&D spending. Research and development expenses increased from 30 million yuan in 2022 to 90.2 million yuan in the first nine months of 2025. However, as a share of revenue, the ratio declined sharply from 24.4% to 7.7%.
By shipment volume, Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025—excluding wheeled dual-arm models—ranking first globally, as noted by Securities Market Weekly.
IPO Funds Target AI “Brains” as Commercial Outlook Remains Uncertain
Despite strong growth, a key question surrounding the IPO is whether humanoid robots are ready for large-scale commercialization. As South China Morning Post notes, currently, 73.6% of Unitree’s humanoid revenue still comes from scientific research and education customers. Although this share is gradually declining, it remains dominant, underscoring that broader industrial adoption is still in its early stages.
Unitree plans to allocate IPO proceeds toward new robot platforms, AI model development, and manufacturing expansion. More than 2 billion yuan—over half of the planned raise—will go toward what it describes as an “intelligent robot model development” project. As South China Morning Post highlights, after establishing strengths in hardware and motion control, the company is now prioritizing more advanced “brains,” enabling robots to better understand physical environments and autonomously plan tasks.
In addition, as noted by South China Morning Post, the company’s investment plan aims to scale annual output to 75,000 humanoid robots and 115,000 quadrupeds within five years, with projected sales reaching 5.7 billion yuan.
Even so, key risks and limitations remain. According to Investor China on OFweek, embodied AI models still struggle to generalize across complex, unstructured environments, leaving Unitree behind AI-native players such as Figure AI. At the same time, reliance on external suppliers for critical components, including high-end sensors, poses long-term supply chain risks. Competitive pressure is also intensifying, as Tesla and Boston Dynamics push toward lower-cost mass production, while Chinese peers such as AgiBot and DEEP Robotics rapidly close the gap.
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(Photo credit: Unitree Robotics)
