Unitree soars in Shanghai debut, a milestone for China’s humanoid robotics sector | WIN 98.5 Your Country | WNWN-FM | Battle Creek, MI
By Thomson Reuters Aug 19, 2026 | 3:08 AM By Samuel Shen and Eduardo Baptista SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Shares in Unitree, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, soared nearly six-fold in its Shanghai trading debut, in a landmark moment for the...
Key takeaways
- Unitree Robotics continues to dominate headlines with its latest “Superman” humanoid, which can leap 2 metres vertically and run at 12.66 m/s—surpassing both the standing‑high‑jump and sprint records of human athletes despite having legs only 0.85 m long.
- The robot, developed in just over three months, is the company’s third major performance breakthrough this year, following the H1 model that previously hit a 10 m/s running speed.
- On the same week that the robot was unveiled, Unitree’s Shanghai IPO surged more than 460 % above the offering price, propelling the firm into a landmark market debut and underscoring investor enthusiasm for China’s burgeoning humanoid sector, which analysts expect to ship 50,000 units in 2026, up from 12,000 in 2025.
- Despite the rapid hardware advances, founder Wang Xingxing cautioned that a “ChatGPT moment” for humanoid robots—where they can generalise across tasks and execute precise movements—may still be a decade away.
- In parallel, U.S. startup Foundation is promoting its Phantom humanoid for border‑security patrols, claiming the robot can navigate rugged terrain and flag potential crossings, although the Department of Homeland Security says no formal contracts are in place.
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By Thomson Reuters Aug 19, 2026 | 3:08 AM
By Samuel Shen and Eduardo Baptista
SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Aug 19 (Reuters) – Shares in Unitree, China’s best-known humanoid robot maker, soared nearly six-fold in its Shanghai trading debut, in a landmark moment for the country’s robotics sector which has become a key battleground in the Sino-U.S. tech war.
Unitree, which competes with Hyundai Motor Group-owned Boston Dynamics and Tesla, has drawn global attention for its robots that run, dance and perform martial arts. The startup also has backing from some of China’s most influential tech firms including Tencent, Alibaba and DeepSeek, while Wang had a coveted front-row seat at a summit with tech business leaders hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping early last year.
At least a half dozen Chinese humanoid robotics firms are preparing to go public. Deep Robotics and Leju Robotics have applied to list on mainland Chinese exchanges, while Mech-Mind Robotics, X Square Robot and AgiBot have chosen to pursue a Hong Kong listing.
($1 = 6.7420 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Samuel Shen in Shanghai and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing, Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
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