Unitree Robotics has taken early steps toward an IPO this year, filing a pre-initial public offering with China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC). The news, reported by The South China Morning Post, arrives as the Hangzhou-based firm has emerged as a key player in the wildly competitive humanoid robotics space.
Funds from a 2025 IPO would fuel Unitree’s growth, as the company harnesses the vast money and interest currently focused on bipedal industrial systems. While much of the competition has failed to journey beyond the laboratory walls, Unitree’s systems have been out and about in public for some time now.
In fact, you can go to the company’s site (or associated distributer, geography depending)right now and pick up multiple different systems from the company. The H1/H2 line has become a popular choice for research institutions and trade shows – though the discovery of backdoor exploits has since raised flags for many.
An IPO could also go a ways toward legitimizing the nascent category for many, though actual industrial deployment of these systems is another question entirely. Unitree has made some waves with the release of its Spot-like quadruped, Go2, which can be deployed for inspection.
For the time being, Unitree’s humanoid efforts are focused on driving down prices more broadly. The recently announced G1, for instance, carries a $16,000 price tag – a fraction of the cost many humanoid companies are hoping to bring to market.
Chinese firm UBTech, meanwhile, has focused much of its efforts on industrial applications. The Shenzhen company recently showcased how its humanoid robot can hot swap its own batteries on the factory floor. UBTech is reportedly looking to raise $307 million through Hong Kong share placement.
China is expected to dominate the category, moving forward, with more than 100 domestic companies working on their own humanoid.
