Tech · Unitree Robotics debutRobot Maker Soars 629% to $66 Billion in Shanghai DebutAired August 22, 2026 at 8:12 PM UTCWritten September 7, 2026 at 9:22 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:00Tens of thousands of robots became a $660:02billion company in minutes. On the STAR0:04Market, a single listing turned a0:06profitable hardware maker into the0:07benchmark for China's entire humanoid0:09robotics sector, pricing Sino-US0:11technology rivalry directly into the0:13market. Billions in retail and0:15state-aligned capital moved before0:17lunch. Can tens of thousands of0:18deliveries sustain a valuation that0:20multiplied more than five times in one0:22morning? Unitree Robotics, legally0:25Hangzhou Yushu Technology, debuted0:27August 19th on Shanghai STAR Market, the0:30Sci-Tech Innovation Board under0:3168836.SH. [music]0:34Shares priced at 150.800:37yuan opened at 1,100 yuan, a 629.44%0:41jump, then closed at 845 yuan, still a0:45460.34% [music]0:47gain. One international wire calculated0:49542% on a different basis, [music] while0:52the 629 at the open and 460 at the close0:55are both corroborated across filings.0:58The company sold 40.45 million shares,1:0110% of enlarged capital, for 6.1 billion1:04yuan, about 904 to 907 [music]1:06million dollars. Though one filing-based1:09account cited 40.44 million shares and1:11about 4.2 billion yuan. At the open,1:14Unitree carried about 445 billion1:16[music] yuan, roughly 66 billion1:19dollars, easing to about 342 billion1:21yuan, roughly 50 billion dollars at the1:24close.1:25That is up from about [music] 61 billion1:26yuan, about 9 billion dollars before the1:29IPO, though a conflicting filing account1:31put pre-money near 42 billion yuan,1:33about 5.8 [music] to 6.2 billion1:35dollars. It was the first pure-play1:37humanoid robotics listing on China's1:39mainland A-share market, framed as a1:40landmark for the sector. The listing was1:42fast-tracked as hard tech. The China1:44Securities Regulatory Commission cleared1:46registration July 4 under document1:48Jenzensuka 2026161121:51Hall, with Shanghai Stock Exchange1:53approval June 1st, described as a1:55104-day record review for the board. One1:58compilation reports approval July 28th2:00and a 73-day review instead, a direct2:02conflict retained in both accounts. The2:04Star Market rule of no price limit for2:06the first five trading days allowed the2:08outsize swing. And the next morning2:10shares opened down about 11% as price2:12discovery began under lockups for2:14strategic investors. Demand was2:16extraordinary. The offering was2:18oversubscribed about 8,000 times2:20overall.2:21And about 5,500 times in the retail2:23tranche with one source citing about2:258,200 times.2:28About 9.8 million accounts applied for2:30about 9.7 million available shares in2:32that tranche, implying an allocation2:34rate of 0.018%.2:36Subscription closed August 14th, ballot2:39results the same day ahead of the August2:4119th listing. The pricing rests on a2:43footprint still measured in tens of2:44thousands. The company disclosed about2:4718,000 humanoid robots delivered by July2:492026 with a separate tally citing more2:52than 5,500 shipped last year alone.2:55For 2025, it reported 1.7 billion yuan2:59in revenue and 591 million yuan in net3:02profit with a claim of more than 90%3:05in-house research and development as a3:06full-stack autonomy provider. Machines3:09are associated with recent3:10demonstrations including a newly3:12unveiled Superman model described as3:14capable of a 2-m jump at 12.66 m/s3:17following earlier back-flipping3:19quadraped and humanoid displays. Scale3:21reflects market mechanics and3:23state-aligned capital. Strategic and3:25institutional placements included Deep3:27Seek with about 140.8 million yuan3:29Tencent through Kuaishou Investment,3:32PetroChina Kunlun Capital, China3:34Southern Power Grid, China Telecom,3:36CITIC Securities, and the National3:38Social Security Fund with Alibaba3:40mentioned as an existing investor in one3:42report. Supporters framed the surge as3:44validation of China's hard tech path3:46clustered with tailwinds from the World3:48Robot Conference in Beijing. Comparisons3:50to recent surges by peers such as CXMT3:53and hyperliquid crypto derivatives that3:55had implied about four times the IPO3:57value ahead of trading. Proceeds are3:59earmarked for embodied AI research,4:01capacity expansion, and component supply4:03chains. Consequences already ripple4:05beyond one ticker. As the first mainland4:07humanoid maker to list, Unitree sets a4:09public valuation benchmark pressuring4:11rivals Agibot, LimX Dynamics, X Square4:14Robot, Leju Robotics, and Deep Robotics4:16to accelerate listings and channels4:18retail and institutional capital into4:20embodied AI.4:22At the same time, risk disclosures site4:24international trade frictions with a4:26July 2026 Federal Communications4:28Commission restriction on future foreign4:30humanoid imports and a Pentagon listing4:32as a military company cited in coverage,4:35both denied by the company, while HSBC4:37warned retail frenzy may not reflect4:39durable demand. HSBC and others warned4:42the frenzy may not last. With lockups in4:44place and volume unverified, the4:46five-day window means true price has not4:48yet been found, and whether there are4:50tens of thousands of robots can become4:51hundreds of thousands under export4:53controls and rapid domestic competition4:55will decide if a more than five-fold4:57morning holds.4:58Like and follow for more stories that5:00matter.Explore with HeyDexThe shortThe short ↗