Unitree, famous for its dancing robots, surges by 460% on its trading debut, lifting valuation to $66 billion, far ahead of U.S. competitors

Shares in Unitree, one of China’s largest manufacturers of humanoid robots, closed their first day of trading by more than 460%, showing strong investor appetite for China’s robotics sector.

Unitree raised around $900 million in its IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, the city’s board for technology startups, at a valuation of $9 billion.

After today’s surge, Unitree is now worth around $66 billion, ahead of larger Chinese tech firms like Baidu and JD.com .

It’s also worth more than the most valuable U.S. robotics company, Figure AI, which got a $39 billion valuation in a September 2025 funding round.

Investors piling into Unitree represents the hype around China’s robotics sector, which is responsible for almost all shipments of humanoid robots in the first half of the year.

But analysts views are mixed on how much potential companies like Unitree have: While the startup continues to push what their robots can do—recently, beyond human performance—continued struggles on the software side, as well as a recent U.S. ban on foreign-made robots, could weigh on the company’s future.

Unitree reported 1.7 billion yuan ($252 million) in revenue in 2025, with almost 45% of that coming from overseas sales.

It also generated 600 million yuan ($89 million) in profit last year.

Most of Unitree’s sales go towards research purposes, though some Chinese tech companies and state-owned enterprises are starting to explore using humanoid robots in their operations.

Unitree has been backed by fellow Hangzhou startup DeepSeek, as well as big tech firms like Alibaba , Ant Group and Tencent , as well as several state-backed investment funds.

Nomura, which gave a “buy” rating to Unitree shares on Wednesday, credited Unitree’s “rapid product iteration and continuous innovation” as the foundation of a “first-mover advantage.” The Hangzhou-based startup, founded in 2016, has quickly become something akin to a national champion in China’s robotics sector.

Synchronized dance performances by its humanoid robots are now a key feature of the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, China’s most-watched TV show.

In 2025, Unitree founder Wang Xingxing got a rare invitation to a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, alongside other tech luminaries like Alibaba founder Jack Ma, BYD founder Wang Chuanfu, and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng.

China’s robotics sector, particularly humanoids, is becoming increasingly sophisticated.