Unitree stock surged 629% on debut: is China’s robot boom already overvalued?

Unitree Robotics shares surged in their Shanghai debut on Wednesday, giving China’s best-known humanoid robot maker a market value briefly above $60 billion and underlining investor appetite for one of Beijing’s most closely watched technology sectors.

The stock opened at 1,100 yuan on the STAR Market, 629% above its IPO price of 150.80 yuan, before retreating below 900 yuan in early trading.

The opening price valued Unitree at about 445 billion yuan ($66 billion), compared with roughly 61 billion yuan at the offer price.

The Hangzhou-based company raised about 6.1 billion yuan, or roughly $900 million, by selling 40.45 million shares.

Demand was intense, as nearly 9.8 million retail accounts competed for about 9.7 million shares in the online tranche.

A scarcity premium meets China’s robot boom

The debut gives public-market investors a rare direct bet on China’s humanoid robotics push.

Unitree led global humanoid robot shipments in 2025, when it sold about 5,500 units, while its machines have gained attention for running, dancing and performing martial arts.

The company also stands out because it is already profitable.

Revenue climbed more than fourfold to about 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, while adjusted profit reached roughly 591 million yuan.

By comparison, several rivals are still spending heavily as they try to move humanoid robots from demonstrations into commercial use.

That combination of market leadership, profitability and scarcity helps explain the premium investors are assigning to the shares.

Unitree also has an unusually powerful shareholder base.

Tencent, Alibaba, Ant Group and other major Chinese technology groups have invested in the company, while DeepSeek and several state-backed institutions joined the IPO placement.

The valuation is running ahead of the business

The rally leaves little room for operational disappointment.

Unitree’s first-quarter revenue rose more than 68% from a year earlier to 422.8 million yuan, but adjusted net profit dropped more than 52% to 40.3 million yuan as research, development and sales expenses increased.

Commercial adoption remains another test.

Unitree itself has warned that slower uptake of general-purpose robots could weigh on growth, highlighting the gap between rapid technical progress and the still-limited number of large-scale deployments.

Investors are therefore pricing in a sharp expansion of embodied AI, which are systems that combine artificial intelligence with machines capable of acting in the physical world.

Unitree becomes a test case for China’s robotics listings

The timing adds to the significance of the debut.

Unitree began trading as the World Robot Conference opened in Beijing, where more than 300 exhibitors are expected to showcase over 2,000 products and technologies through August 23.

China has made embodied AI and robotics a strategic industrial priority, with national and regional policies aimed at accelerating manufacturing, applications and technology development.

The push also comes as competition with the US intensifies across advanced technologies.