China’s humanoid robot race is heading to the public markets.

Unitree has priced its Shanghai initial public offering at 150.8 yuan ($22.34) per share, giving the Hangzhou-based robotics company a valuation of roughly 61 billion yuan, or $9.04 billion. The listing would make Unitree, formally known as Yushu Technology, China’s first mainland-listed humanoid robot maker.

The company plans to raise 6.1 billion yuan, roughly $900 million, through the sale of 40.45 million new shares on Shanghai’s STAR Market, according to a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The shares represent 10% of Unitree’s enlarged share capital.

That valuation is higher than previously expected. Reuters reported last September that Unitree was targeting a valuation of up to 50 billion yuan.

IPO subscriptions are scheduled to open on August 10. Unitree plans to put the proceeds into robot software and hardware development, new products and a manufacturing base.

The IPO comes at a pivotal moment for humanoid robotics. AI models are becoming increasingly capable of giving machines the perception and reasoning needed to perform more complicated physical tasks, turning robotics into one of the biggest battlegrounds for Chinese and American technology companies.

Unitree (Credit: Unitree)

Unitree is already one of the most recognizable names in the sector. Its humanoid and four-legged robots have drawn global attention through videos showing them running, dancing and performing acrobatic movements. The company is now trying to turn that visibility into a much larger commercial business.

Revenue more than quadrupled to 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, according to the prospectus. Humanoid robots generated 867.8 million yuan in sales, overtaking Unitree’s four-legged machines to become its largest business.

The numbers show strong demand, but they reveal another side of the story. First-quarter revenue climbed 68.5% to 422.8 million yuan, yet profit excluding one-time items dropped 52.6% to 40.3 million yuan as spending on research and marketing increased.

DeepSeek puts $20.8 million behind Unitree’s robot ambitions

Unitree’s IPO has attracted a strategic investor with enormous name recognition in AI: DeepSeek.

The Chinese AI startup invested 140.8 million yuan, or about $20.8 million, in Unitree through the IPO’s strategic placement, according to a stock-exchange filing cited by Reuters. DeepSeek received 933,399 shares, accounting for 2.31% of shares allocated through the strategic placement.

The two companies have agreed to jointly develop AI models for humanoid machines.

That partnership could prove more significant than the investment itself. Humanoid robot makers face a problem that better motors and mechanical engineering alone cannot solve. Robots need increasingly capable AI systems that can interpret their surroundings, make decisions and translate those decisions into physical actions.

Pairing DeepSeek’s AI work with Unitree’s robotics platform gives both companies a direct route into that emerging market.

The IPO is unfolding against rising technology tensions between Washington and Beijing. The U.S. has tightened restrictions affecting Chinese access to American technology and markets, including new restrictions involving foreign-made humanoid and four-legged robots. Beijing has responded with export restrictions and sanctions targeting selected U.S. entities.

That poses a real business risk for Unitree.

U.S. sales represented 13.3% of Unitree’s revenue last year, according to its prospectus. The company warned that tariffs, restrictions on government purchases, export controls or the loss of existing approvals could hurt international growth and disrupt access to imported components.

Unitree says its current humanoid and quadruped robots have U.S. approvals, but future models could be blocked from the market.

Investors are now being asked to price both sides of that equation: a Chinese robotics company whose revenue is surging and whose humanoid business has become its largest segment, paired with growing geopolitical barriers in one of the biggest technology markets on Earth.

At roughly $9 billion, Unitree’s public-market debut will provide something the humanoid robotics industry has largely lacked: a visible market valuation for a major pure-play robot maker.

And with DeepSeek now putting its money and AI models behind the company, Unitree’s IPO is becoming more than a stock listing. It is an early public-market test of how much investors are willing to bet on humanoid robots becoming a real business rather than an impressive demonstration.