China has authorized Unitree’s registration for a listing in Shanghai, estimating the IPO's value at $619 million.

      China’s securities regulator has given the green light for Unitree Robotics to register for a listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market, removing the last formal barrier before the humanoid robot manufacturer can price and sell its shares. This approval, confirmed by Reuters on Thursday, values the upcoming offering at approximately $619 million, or around 4.2 billion yuan, which aligns closely with reports from Caixin Global and the South China Morning Post over the past month.

      However, approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) does not equate to a completed listing. Unitree must still determine a final share price and issuance date, steps that generally follow registration approval by several weeks rather than just a few days. Nevertheless, this achievement is a significant milestone following Unitree’s IPO filing from March, positioning the company to potentially become the first major humanoid robotics listing in mainland China.

      In March, Unitree submitted its prospectus to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, initially aiming to raise about $610 million. This figure has increased as the process has progressed, with Shanghai’s listing review committee approving the application on June 1, leading up to Thursday’s registration approval from the CSRC. The difference between the filing figure from March and this week's amount reflects the fluctuations in yuan-dollar conversion rather than significant changes in scope, as noted in reports by Bloomberg, Nikkei Asia, and Caixin at various stages.

      Established in Hangzhou in 2016 by engineer Wang Xingxing, Unitree initially gained recognition for its quadruped robots before transitioning to humanoid machines that frequently appear in Chinese state media demonstrations and viral videos. The company claims to have been profitable since 2020, with Caixin estimating 2025 revenue at approximately 1.7 billion yuan, although profit figures vary across sources and should be interpreted as directional rather than exact.

      Wang is regarded as a unique celebrity engineer in China's tech industry, with his robots performing backflips and kung fu at events long before their IPO announcement garnered attention. The prospectus indicates that the funds will be allocated toward research on the software and control systems known in the industry as robot "brains," as well as new product lines and increased manufacturing capacity, according to Global Times’ coverage of the filing documents.

      This context is important because China's humanoid robotics sector has become saturated with hardware announcements while lacking in the accompanying software that enhances the machines' utility beyond demonstration stages, a gap highlighted by TNW in May, which reported on the approximately 150 companies competing for the same market.

      Unitree is not the only Chinese robotics firm eyeing public markets this year; AgiBot and EngineAI are both pursuing Hong Kong listings, while smaller companies like Dobot, Deep Robotics, and Leju Robotics are reportedly exploring their own financing options. EngineAI's filing in June referenced Unitree’s valuation as a benchmark, showcasing how interconnected the fortunes of companies in this sector have become in the eyes of investors.

      While Unitree has been characterized in numerous reports as the leading distributor of humanoid units globally, some industry assessments suggest that AgiBot may surpass Unitree in total shipments for 2025, indicating that the claim should be viewed as one of several strong competitors rather than an established ranking.

      What remains undisputed is Unitree’s capacity to attract attention beyond the robotics media, notably receiving a mention from Nvidia earlier this year as the chipmaker considered which humanoid manufacturers to support, alongside being included on a Pentagon list of Chinese firms with alleged military ties, which Unitree has contested.

      Valuation estimates for the listing have varied throughout the process, ranging from approximately $5.9 billion to $7 billion, depending on the timing and methodology used for the calculations. The final valuation will only become clear once Unitree and its underwriters establish the offer price, which is the next essential step following Beijing’s regulator’s approval of the documents.