Unitree lists in Shanghai: what $900 million means for robot prices
On 19 August 2026 Unitree Robotics began trading on Shanghai's STAR Market. The Hangzhou-based maker of humanoid and four-legged robots sold its shares at ¥150.80 and raised about ¥6.1 billion, roughly $900 million; retail investors bid for thousands of times more shares than were set aside for them. On the first day the stock rose as much as 629% and closed 460% higher, at ¥845. For buyers in Europe the share price matters less than what the money will pay for.
What the money is for
Unitree's prospectus directs the proceeds to AI models for robots, new products and manufacturing capacity. The company comes to the market profitable, with 2025 revenue of about ¥1.7 billion ($250 million). Around 13% of that came from the United States — a market the FCC closed to new foreign-made robot models on 28 July.
What has happened to prices
The filing also shows how Unitree has competed so far. The average price of a humanoid it sold fell from about ¥593,000 in 2023 to under ¥170,000 in the first nine months of 2025 — by more than 70% — while its gross margin rose to nearly 60%. The R1, launched in July 2025, starts at about $5,900. Four-legged robots still brought in about 42% of core revenue in the same period, and humanoid buyers were mostly labs: research and education made up about 74% of humanoid revenue, industrial use 9%.
Two caveats. An average price also falls when cheaper models join the range, so it is not the same as a discount on a given robot. And a price in China is not a price in Europe: delivery, certification and local service come on top.
Capital on one side, a foothold on the other
Unitree is not alone at the top. By the count of Smart Analytics Global, which includes wheeled robots, AGIBOT shipped about 8,400 humanoids in the first half of 2026 against Unitree's 5,900. AGIBOT sells in Europe through its partner Minth, is due to start humanoid assembly with Minth in Šabac at the end of August, and said in July it had begun the procedure for a Hong Kong listing. Unitree now has public-market money, AGIBOT a European base, and both are shut out of the US for new models. For a buyer in Europe that points to more competition on price, not less — an expectation, not yet a price list.
What we'll watch
Whether the new money turns into cheaper models or lower prices outside China, what the Šabac line and a listing do to AGIBOT's prices, and what Chinese humanoids actually cost when they reach buyers in the region.
Sources
- NBC News — Unitree, China robot maker, surges in stock market debut amid AI boom
- The Robot Report — Unitree IPO shows a real hardware business, but the humanoid case is still early
- Rest of World — China robot maker Unitree files for $610 million Shanghai IPO
- SAG — Global humanoid robot shipments in 1H 2026
- SCMP — Chinese robot maker AgiBot pursues Hong Kong IPO, hiring 3 sponsors: sources
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