Unitree Robotics, the world's largest manufacturer of humanoid robots, made its debut on the Shanghai stock exchange on Wednesday. Its shares closed the first day of trading up over 460%, offered to investors at 22.36 US dollars each.
The long-awaited listing on the Star Market, a technology-focused exchange widely known as China's Nasdaq, marks a milestone in Beijing's ambitious plans for the country's robotic industry. Although Unitree is not the first Chinese humanoid robot manufacturer to list on the stock market, its debut is the first in mainland China.
The company, whose official name is Yushu Technology Co Ltd and which was founded in 2016, delivered more than 5,500 humanoid robots last year. Unitree is one of the few companies in the sector that is profitable, recording a net gain of 41.3 million dollars in 2025. It produces robots with features similar to US devices but at lower prices, making it a formidable rival for developers in that country.
Headquartered in Hangzhou in eastern China, Unitree operates in a region that hosts a booming hub for robotics companies benefiting from massive government investments. According to the state newspaper China Daily, this support helped the number of Chinese robotics companies more than triple between 2020 and 2024. Beijing considers the robotics sector a "strategic priority" in its pursuit of leadership in advanced technology.
Unitree's stock market debut comes as the United States and China compete to dominate the global robot market and the artificial intelligence models that power them. Experts expect Unitree's success to serve as an indicator of investor interest in the humanoid robotics sector and set a precedent for other Chinese manufacturers seeking to list on the stock market.
