{"slug": "humanoid-robot-firm-launches-in-shanghai", "title": "Humanoid robot firm launches in Shanghai", "summary": "Unitree, the world's largest humanoid robot maker, surged more than 600% on its Shanghai stock market debut Wednesday, with shares hitting 1,100 yuan ($120.39) before paring gains to nearly 500%. The company, officially Yushu Technology Co, shipped over 5,500 humanoid robots last year, and its IPO was heavily oversubscribed by Chinese retail investors. Founder and CEO Wang Xingxing, who owns about a fifth of the business, saw his paper wealth exceed $12 billion, according to Reuters.", "body_md": "Unitree, the world’s biggest humanoid robot maker, has made a spectacular entry on to China’s stock market, with its shares surging by more than 600%.\n\nThe Chinese company’s robots have gained global fame via [viral videos of them performing martial arts](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/19/inside-chinas-robotics-revolution), running at Olympic speeds and serving as backup dancers for pop stars.\n\nShares in the business, officially known as Yushu Technology Co, rose to as high as 1,100 yuan (£120.39) on Wednesday, up from an IPO price of just 150.8 yuan. Its gains were later pared back to a rise of nearly 500%.\n\nInvestors are searching for winners in robotics development, which has emerged as one of the [key battlegrounds in the AI race](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ng-interactive/2026/jul/06/china-dextrous-robotic-hands-humanoid).\n\nUnitree, which was founded in 2016, shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots last year.\n\nThe market for human-like robots is expected to grow rapidly, with analysts projecting that sales could rise from around $2bn (£1.5bn) in 2025 to $300bn by 2035.\n\nThere was exceptional demand from Chinese retail investors in Unitree’s IPO, with the tranche of shares dedicated to non-professional stockpickers oversubscribed by thousands.\n\nUnitree is one of the few listed humanoid robot makers in the world. Its biggest competitor, AgiBot, is private and its smaller rival UBTech is listed in Hong Kong.\n\nHowever, at least half a dozen other Chinese humanoid robotic businesses are preparing to go public, including Deep Robotics and Leju Robotics.\n\nWang Xingxing, who founded Unitree in 2016 and remains its chief executive, owns about a fifth of the business. The spike in its share price means his personal wealth is now worth more than $12bn on paper, according to Reuters.\n\nUnitree’s market debut also coincided with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Bejiing on Wednesday, where hundreds of companies, mostly Chinese, will launch new products and demonstrate their technical developments.\n\nLast month, the US Federal Communications Commission [banned imports of future models](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2026/aug/11/why-the-us-government-is-trying-to-ban-this-chinese-dancing-robot-video-explainer) of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots based on national security concerns.\n\nThis summer the Pentagon also added Unitree to a list of Chinese military companies, describing it as a “contributor to the Chinese defence industrial base”. Unitree has previously said its robots are for civilian use.\n\nThe business is backed by several big Chinese technology companies, including Tencent and Alibaba.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/humanoid-robot-firm-launches-in-shanghai", "canonical_source": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/aug/19/unitree-shares-surge-humanoid-robot-firm-chinese-stock-market-debut", "published_at": "2026-08-19 17:44:15+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-19 17:59:30.921011+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["robotics", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-startups"], "entities": ["Unitree", "Yushu Technology Co", "Wang Xingxing", "AgiBot", "UBTech", "Deep Robotics", "Leju Robotics", "Tencent"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/humanoid-robot-firm-launches-in-shanghai", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/humanoid-robot-firm-launches-in-shanghai.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/humanoid-robot-firm-launches-in-shanghai.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/humanoid-robot-firm-launches-in-shanghai.jsonld"}}