[News] China’s Robot Maker Unitree Heads for IPO at RMB 60.99B Valuation, Backed by DeepSeek and Tencent

China’s humanoid robotics industry is entering a new chapter as Unitree Robotics moves toward its long-awaited IPO. According to South China Morning Post, Unitree has priced its IPO at RMB 150.8 per share, valuing the company at RMB 60.99 billion (US$9 billion). The company will issue 40.45 million new shares to raise RMB 6.1 billion, above its original RMB 4.2 billion fundraising target. 21jinji adds that subscriptions for Unitree’s STAR Market IPO will open on Aug. 10.

The offering has also attracted a strong lineup of strategic investors, South China Morning Post notes, including DeepSeek, Tencent Holdings, China National Petroleum Corp, China Southern Power Grid, China Telecom, Citic Securities, and the National Council for Social Security Fund. DeepSeek invested RMB 141 million under a three-year lock-up agreement and will partner with Unitree to co-develop AI models and embodied AI technologies.

Beyond its investor lineup, Unitree also stands out financially. South China Morning Post points out that, unlike most of its Chinese rivals, the company is already profitable. Unitree generated RMB 1.7 billion in revenue and RMB 591 million in adjusted net profit last year.

Based on the IPO price, Unitree is valued at a price-to-earnings ratio of 219.23 times and a price-to-sales (P/S) multiple of 35.89 times. By comparison, Hong Kong-listed robotics companies UBTech Robotics and Dobot trade at P/S multiples of 19.37 times and 20.12 times, respectively, despite remaining unprofitable, South China Morning Post notes.

The premium valuation also reflects Unitree’s leading position in the global robotics market. As 21jinji notes, Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, capturing the world’s largest market share at approximately 32%. The company also maintained its leadership in the global quadruped robot market with a 69.75% share.

The broader market is also expanding rapidly. According to TrendForce, China is expected to account for nearly 70% of global humanoid robot production in 2026.

Unitree’s biggest competitors are primarily domestic Chinese companies, including AgiBot, UBTech, and Fourier. International rivals include U.S.-based Agility Robotics, Figure AI, Apptronik, and 1X Technologies, as well as Hyundai Motor-owned Boston Dynamics, all of which are also racing to develop humanoid robots, according to The New York Times. Tesla, which Unitree identifies as a competitor in its prospectus, has said its long-term goal is to produce 1 million humanoid robots annually.

U.S. Restrictions Pose a Potential Risk

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has introduced new restrictions on advanced robotics equipment manufactured overseas. As noted by Commercial Times, Unitree said its current humanoid and quadruped robot models have already obtained FCC certification and are therefore not expected to be affected. Still, future models could face U.S. market access restrictions if they fail to obtain FCC certification or an exemption. Commercial Times adds that overseas revenue accounted for more than 40% of Unitree’s total revenue from 2023 to 2025, with the U.S. contributing 18.39%, 19.54%, and 13.30%, respectively.

In addition, according to The New York Times, Unitree also reflects the challenge facing the broader humanoid robotics industry. The report notes that while the technology is advancing rapidly, significant uncertainty remains over whether a large-scale commercial market will emerge in the near term.

Read more

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(Photo credit: Unitree)