Shares in Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree soar in Shanghai trading debut

Shares in Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree soar in Shanghai trading debut 1 of 5 | A worker gets a robot ready for demonstration at a booth for leading Chinese commercial humanoid robotics firm Unitree Robotics during the World AI Conference in Shanghai, China, on July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) 2 of 5 | Visitors stand near for leading Chinese commercial humanoid robotics firm Unitree Robotics during the World AI Conference in Shanghai, China, on July 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) 3 of 5 | A humanoid and four legged robot from Unitree waits to demonstrate at the 137th Canton Fair in Guangzhou in southern China’s Guangdong province on April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File) 4 of 5 | Visitors watch robots box at a booth for leading Chinese commercial humanoid robotics firm Unitree Robotics during the World AI Conference in Shanghai, China, on July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) 5 of 5 | A wide range of robots are displayed at a booth for leading Chinese commercial humanoid robotics firm Unitree Robotics during the World AI Conference in Shanghai, China, on July 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) By CHAN HO-HIM Updated 7:01 AM MESZ, August 19, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit HONG KONG (AP) — Shares of Unitree, one of China’s largest humanoid robot makers, initially soared as much as 629% in its public stock trading debut Wednesday in Shanghai, in the latest highlight of investor optimism over China’s technological advances. The company, founded in 2016 by entrepreneur Wang Xingxing in the eastern Chinese technology hub of Hangzhou, raised around 6.1 billion yuan ($904 million) in its listing on the Shanghai-stock-exchange" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="17136" data-entity-type="organization">Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-style STAR market. The shares were priced at 150.80 yuan ($22.36) a share. Shares were still up nearly 500% as of midday. Advanced robotics, often referred to as “embodied” Artificial Intelligence, is a key sector in the heated technology rivalry between China and the U.S. China leads the U.S. in terms of production capacity of humanoid robots and the ability to scale up manufacturing. Last year, of the roughly 15,000 humanoid robots shipped globally, Unitree and AGIBOT, another major Chinese humanoid robot maker, each shipped more than 5,000, according to technology research and advisory group Omdia, way ahead of their U.S. counterparts. But analysts say for now, many of these humanoid robots are still mainly used for demonstrations, performances and research rather than real-world applications. Unitree’s humanoid robots, for example, dazzled audiences at China’s annual Spring Festival gala by performing backflips and martial arts. US bans foreign-made humanoid robots, targeting China over national security 3 MIN READ 28 Cheaper, open and intelligent: Chinese AI models gain ground, as they make inroads in the US 4 MIN READ 125 “The real competitive test will be whether companies – Chinese or American – can achieve reliable performance and attractive returns on investment in large-scale industrial and commercial deployments,” analyst Kangyuxiao Li at investment research firm Morningstar said in a commentary. Unitree said proceeds from the IPO will be used for advanced robot research and development and development of its robot manufacturing base. The company is the first publicly traded humanoid robotics maker in mainland China. Analysts believe the IPO could set a precedent for valuations of other robotic company stock offerings. It “gives mainland investors direct exposure to one of the sector’s leading companies,” said Li at Morningstar. UBTech, another major Chinese humanoid robot maker, has shares traded in Hong Kong. Its shares fell 10.6% on Wednesday. Unitree reported about 1.7 billion yuan (about $250 million) in revenue in 2025, mainly from sales of its humanoid robots and quadruped robots, often referring to four-legged robot dogs. More than 40% of that revenue was from overseas. Last year, the U.S. accounted for roughly 13% of Unitree’s revenue, the company said. But that was before the U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned imports of new foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots in July on national security grounds. Unitree cautioned that the U.S. ban, which it said applies to its new models, could affect its future sales in the U.S. market. Existing models of its advanced robots can still be sold, but Unitree faces the risk that the U.S. could further expand its restrictions. CHAN HO-HIM Chan writes about business and economy in China for The Associated Press, reporting on key sectors of the world’s second-largest economy from trade and technology to autos. He is based in Hong Kong. mailto