TLDR
- Unitree stock surged as much as 629% on its first day of trading on Shanghai’s STAR Market, settling around 500% higher by midday.
- The IPO raised around $904 million, with shares priced at 150.80 yuan ($22.36) each.
- The company is now valued at around $50 billion, making founder Wang Xingxing worth over $12 billion on paper.
- The US FCC banned imports of Unitree’s future robot models in July over national security concerns, cutting off a key market.
- At least six more Chinese humanoid robotics firms are preparing to go public, with Unitree’s debut expected to set the tone for their valuations.
Unitree had one of the most explosive stock market debuts in recent memory. The Chinese humanoid robot maker opened on Shanghai’s STAR Market on Wednesday with its stock surging as much as 629% above its IPO price of 150.80 yuan ($22.36). By midday, it was still up nearly 500%, closing the morning session at 883.87 yuan and valuing the company at roughly $50 billion.
🇨🇳BREAKING: Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree surges over 600% in its Shanghai market debut.
Unitree opened at 1,100 yuan ($163) per share versus an IPO price of around 150 yuan ($22).
This briefly pushed its market capitalization to nearly 445 billion yuan ($66… pic.twitter.com/dagTez31ea
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) August 19, 2026
That first-day move far outpaced the average 279% pop for new listings in China this year.
The IPO raised around 6.1 billion yuan ($904 million), with around 10% of the company sold to public investors. Founder Wang Xingxing, who started the company in Hangzhou in 2016, retains about a fifth of the company. His net worth on paper now tops $12 billion.
US Ban Clouds Outlook
Despite the euphoria, there is a real headwind. The US Federal Communications Commission banned imports of future models of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots in July, citing national security concerns. Unitree confirmed the ban applies to its new models.
The US accounted for around 13% of Unitree’s revenue last year, before the ban took effect. The company also faces the risk of further US restrictions down the line.
In June, the Pentagon added Unitree to its list of Chinese military companies, calling it a “contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base.” Unitree has said its products are for civilian use.
Unitree reported around 1.7 billion yuan ($250 million) in revenue in 2025, mostly from sales of humanoid and quadruped robots. More than 40% of that revenue came from overseas markets. Unlike most of its peers, the company is profitable.
The company is backed by Tencent, Alibaba, and DeepSeek, and founder Wang Xingxing has had a front-row seat at summits hosted by President Xi Jinping.
More Listings on the Way
Unitree is the first mainland Chinese humanoid robot maker to go public, and analysts say the listing will set a benchmark for others. At least six rival firms are preparing IPOs, including Deep Robotics and Leju Robotics on mainland exchanges, and Mech-Mind Robotics, X Square Robot, and AgiBot in Hong Kong.
Rival UBTech, which trades in Hong Kong, fell 10.6% on the same day Unitree debuted.
Morningstar analyst Kangyuxiao Li noted that while the listing gives mainland investors direct exposure to a sector leader, the “real competitive test” will be whether companies can achieve reliable returns in large-scale commercial deployments. Most of Unitree’s robots are currently sold to research institutions and universities rather than deployed in commercial settings.
The debut coincided with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Beijing, where hundreds of mostly Chinese robotics companies are showcasing new products.
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