Unitree shares jump 600 percent on Chinese market debut

Shares in Yushu Technology Co, the world’s leading manufacturer of humanoid robots, experienced a dramatic increase of more than 600 percent during their initial listing on China’s stock market. The company, widely known as Unitree, saw its share price climb to a peak of 1,100 yuan, which is equivalent to 120.39 pounds, before settling at a gain of nearly 500 percent above the initial offering price of 150.8 yuan. This substantial rise reflects intense investor interest in the robotics sector, which has become a central focus of the global artificial intelligence competition.

The firm, founded in 2016 by chief executive Wang Xingxing, has achieved international recognition through viral videos featuring its machines performing martial arts, running at high speeds, and dancing alongside pop stars. Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in the previous year, positioning itself as a major player in an industry that analysts predict will expand significantly. Market forecasts suggest that sales of human-like robots could grow from approximately two billion dollars in 2025 to 300 billion dollars by 2035. Demand for the company’s equity was exceptionally high, with the portion of shares allocated to non-professional investors being oversubscribed by thousands of times.

The share price surge has increased the personal wealth of founder Wang Xingxing, who owns about a fifth of the business, to more than 12 billion dollars on paper. Unitree is one of the few listed humanoid robot manufacturers globally, with its main rival AgiBot remaining private and smaller competitor UBTech listed in Hong Kong. Several other Chinese firms, including Deep Robotics and Leju Robotics, are also preparing for public listings. The company’s market debut coincided with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Beijing, where numerous firms demonstrated new technical developments. Despite its civilian focus, the Pentagon added Unitree to a list of Chinese military companies this summer, and the US Federal Communications Commission recently banned imports of certain foreign-made robot models on national security grounds. The business is backed by major Chinese technology groups, including Tencent and Alibaba.