Unitree’s Shanghai IPO Is 5,500 Times Oversubscribed as China’s Retail Investors Chase Humanoid Robots

Inside Unitree’s $900 Million Shanghai Listing

Chinese retail investors are battling for a stake in Unitree, the humanoid robotics company founded by Wang Xingxing in 2016, ahead of its Shanghai listing later this month.

According to a pre-listing exchange filing, the retail tranche of Unitree’s IPO was oversubscribed more than 5,500 times, even after the company increased the number of shares available to small investors. Unitree sold 40.4 million shares, about 10% of its outstanding stock, at 150.8 yuan ($22.35) each. The deal raised roughly $900 million and gave the company a market valuation of about $9 billion. Retail investors received 16% of the offering, while institutional buyers included hedge funds linked to DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng.

The rush demonstrates how strongly Chinese households are chasing AI-related shares. The tech-focused Star 50 index has risen more than 27% this year, compared with a 0.8% gain for the benchmark CSI 300. Unitree’s retail demand also dwarfs the more than 200 times oversubscription seen in last month’s successful IPO of memory-chip maker CXMT.

Unitree has become a well-known robotics brand in China, helped by its robots dancing, performing acrobatics and boxing during Lunar New Year galas. Last year its success earned founder Wang a front-row seat at a meeting with President Xi Jinping. The main use of IPO proceeds will be 2 billion yuan ($296 million) for developing AI models for its robots.

What Unitree’s 5,500x Retail Demand Reveals About China’s AI Stock Boom

Why Demand Hit 5,500x

The retail oversubscription is a sign of scarcity as much as conviction. Unitree offered only about 10% of its outstanding shares, with just 16% of that volume allocated to retail investors. The result was extreme leverage between the number of shares available and the number of households bidding for them. This mirrors last month’s CXMT listing, where 200x oversubscription was treated as a success; Unitree’s 5,500x figure is on a different scale because the float is far smaller and the robotics story is more visible.

Where Unitree's Fundamentals Sit

The listing maths are demanding. Based on last year’s results, Unitree is valued at 219 times earnings and almost 36 times sales after supplying 5,500 humanoid robots. That prices in rapid expansion rather than current profitability. The company says overseas sales make up more than 40% of revenue, with the United States accounting for between 13.3% and 18.4% depending on the year. Kenny Ng of Everbright Securities International noted that China’s humanoid robotics industry is developing quickly and that Unitree is highly representative of the sector.

The US-China Robotics Split

The listing is also one data point in a growing technology rivalry. The US Federal Communications Commission last month banned imports of humanoid robots, a move many read as aimed at Chinese products. Unitree says the FCC action will not affect sales of its main existing products in the US, but warns that new models would be at risk of being withdrawn from that market. Morgan Stanley equity analyst Sheng Zhong called the IPO a “catalyst” for listed robotics stocks and argued it could mark the start of an escalating US-China competition in artificial intelligence deployed in the physical world.

What the Unitree Listing Means for Investors and Robotics Rivals

• Use the 150.8 yuan IPO price, 219x P/E and near 36x price-to-sales as the reference points when Unitree begins trading later this month; a large first-day premium would widen the gap between price and last year’s results.
• Track Unitree’s US revenue share, reported at 13.3%–18.4%, and any FCC-related update on new models, because this is the clearest external risk to the growth story.
• Watch the 2 billion yuan allocated to AI model development as the concrete measure of execution; the company’s brand strength is established, but delivery on that spending is what will support the valuation.
• For investors in listed robotics peers, monitor whether the Unitree listing acts as Morgan Stanley’s Sheng Zhong suggested and pulls up related names, alongside the Star 50’s 27% year-to-date advance.