Unitree unveils a robot it says can run faster than Usain Bolt ahead of its IPO

Unitree, a Chinese robotics firm set to go public at a $9 billion valuation on Wednesday, unveiled a new 'Superman' humanoid robot on Monday that it says can reach a top speed of 12.66 meters per second, faster than Usain Bolt's 12.4 m/s top speed during his 2009 world-record 100m run, and can jump two meters vertically. The robot's unveiling comes ahead of Unitree's IPO in Shanghai, with retail-investor allocation more than 5,000 times oversubscribed, highlighting the rapid acceleration of China's robotics industry, which shipped nearly 6,000 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026.

China's humanoid robots have mastered kung fu https://www.businessinsider.com/china-kung-fu-humanoid-robots-performance-spring-festival-gala-unitree-2026-2 , boxing https://www.businessinsider.com/china-global-ai-regulation-trump-openai-meta-deepmind-anthropic-2025-7 , and serving your coffee https://www.scmp.com/video/technology/3364331/202-cups-hour-beijings-24-hour-robot-run-coffee-shop-sets-world-record — and now they're leaving the world's fastest man in the dust. Unitree, a Chinese robotics firm https://www.businessinsider.com/can-this-125k-robot-be-my-friend-2026-6 that is set to go public at a $9 billion valuation on Wednesday, unveiled a new "Superman" humanoid robot on Monday that it says can outrun and outjump top human athletes. The company said the robot, which has been in development for just three months, can reach a top speed of 12.66 meters per second m/s — faster than the roughly 12.4 m/s top speed achieved by Usain Bolt during his world-record 100m run in 2009. Bolt took 9.58 seconds to cover the distance, whereas Unitree's robot would take 7.90 seconds if it maintained its top speed throughout. Unitree also said that Superman can jump two meters vertically into the air, beating the human world record https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/64805-standing-high-jumps-ath for a standing high jump. The robot's unveiling comes ahead of Unitree's much-anticipated IPO on Wednesday. The humanoid robot manufacturer is set to list in Shanghai in a milestone moment for China's booming robotics industry, with filings suggesting the IPO's retail-investor allocation is more than 5,000 times oversubscribed. With its spindly legs and ungainly running style, Unitree's Superman robot is not quite as elegant as its flagship G1 android, a troupe of which wowed onlookers at China's Spring Festival gala with backflips and kung-fu https://www.businessinsider.com/china-kung-fu-humanoid-robots-performance-spring-festival-gala-unitree-2026-2 earlier this year. However, it's more evidence of just how fast China's robotics industry is accelerating. Unitree shipped nearly 6,000 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, according to data from business intelligence firm Smart Analytics Global https://smartanalyticsglobal.com/global-humanoid-robot-shipments-2026-agibot-unitree/ . Unitree sells robots across a huge variety of form factors and prices, from the $13,500 dancing G1 humanoid to the $650,000 GD01, a gloriously impractical giant mecha that can smash through walls and transform into a four-legged vehicle. The nascent market for humanoid robots, which Morgan Stanley analysts predict could be worth $7.5 trillion by 2050, is dominated by Unitree and its local rivals. US humanoid robots are still some distance away from mass commercial launches. Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot, which Elon Musk has said will cost around $25,000 https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-cybercab-optimus-production-agonizingly-slow-robotaxi-robot-2026-1 , is expected to enter production by the end of 2026, and several other US humanoid startups have said they expect to begin limited customer deliveries this year. US robotics fans hoping to pick up a Unitree Superman are likely to be disappointed. The Federal Communications Commission announced a ban https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-expands-tech-crackdown-on-china-imports-to-humanoid-robots-2026-7 on some new foreign-made advanced robots last month, a move that US robotics startup founders warned https://www.businessinsider.com/fcc-robot-ban-silicon-valley-debate-startups-china-unitree-2026-7 could hurt their ability to compete with Unitree and other Chinese firms.