By Samuel Shen and Eduardo Baptista
SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Shares in Unitree, China's best-known humanoid robot maker, soared more than five-fold in their 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 Tesla and Hyundai Motor Group-owned Boston Dynamics, has drawn global attention for its robots that run, dance and perform martial arts.
One of the world's biggest
producers of humanoid and quadruped robots, it is a symbol of national pride for China, backed by influential firms, both private-sector tech giants and state-run. It is also, unlike most of its peers, profitable even if few of its robots are used in commercial applications.
"It is a top-tier player, and its uniqueness commands premiums," said Yan Kai, a venture capitalist and partner at Ivy Capital in Shanghai.
"Its price is dictated by political and economic considerations, rather than valuation models."
While it is not the first Chinese humanoid robot maker to go public, its debut is expected to set the tone for a slew of domestic rivals preparing to come to market. That includes Chery Automobile's robotics division, whose head of business told Reuters on Wednesday it was in talks over potential listing venues.
FIRST-MOVER ADVANTAGE
The stock finished at 845 yuan on the tech-focused STAR Market, valuing the company at around $50 billion. Though it lost some steam after starting the day at 1,100, its close was 460% higher than its IPO price of 150.8 yuan.
That rise far exceeds the average first-day pop of 279% for new share listings in China for the year thus far. It also contrasts with a 3% drop for China's benchmark index on Wednesday, with tech shares tumbling in tandem with peers globally.
The debut coincides with the opening of the World Robot Conference in Beijing, where hundreds of mostly Chinese companies will be launching new products and demonstrating advancements that the government is betting will help make up for the labour shortfall caused by China's demographic crisis.
Unitree's blockbuster listing will add to its first-mover advantage, helping it survive in an industry where most other firms are losing money, said William Xin, chairman of Spring Mountain Pu Jiang Investment Management.
"At this early stage of competition, whoever gets listed and has visibility can grab the resources and have staying power,” he said.
FUTURE PRODUCTS CUT OFF FROM US MARKET
While investors in China were quick to jump on the stock, others have cautioned that many of its sales to date have been one-off sales and that few of its robots are being used in commercial settings. Many of its products are sold to research institutions and universities.
Moreover, in July, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission banned imports of future models of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots, including those from Unitree, citing national security concerns.
That cuts off a huge market for Unitree, which has become a case in point of how well China has been able to scale up in new highly strategic industries despite some products being first developed in the United States.
Unitree based designs for its most successful robot dogs on innovations funded by the U.S. military, a former U.S. defense technology official and three top researchers involved in the project told Reuters.
The U.S. Army research was published openly to stimulate progress in the field, a common practice, and Unitree did nothing underhand in using it.
Unitree has not responded to Reuters requests for comment.
In June, the Pentagon also added Unitree to a list of Chinese military companies, calling it a “contributor to the Chinese defense industrial base.” That designation falls short of a sanction but limits the U.S. military’s future use of Unitree’s technology. Unitree has said its robots are for civilian use.
MORE CHINESE ROBOT MAKERS TO LIST
Some 10% of the Unitree shares were sold in the IPO, which raised about $900 million, and founder Wang Xingxing, 36, continues to own around a fifth of the company. The debut has catapulted his personal wealth to more than $11 billion on paper.
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.
Other Chinese humanoid robotics firms preparing to go public include Deep Robotics and Leju Robotics, which have applied to list on mainland Chinese exchanges, as well as Mech-Mind Robotics, X Square Robot and AgiBot, which have chosen to pursue a Hong Kong listing.
Those plans come amid a broad wave of listings in mainland China on the back of a buoyant stock market. IPO proceeds there have totalled $21.3 billion this year, more than three times the amount during the same period last year and the highest level in three years, according to LSEG data.
($1 = 6.7420 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Samuel Shen in Shanghai and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Additional reporting by Kane Wu, Summer Zhen and Jiaxing Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
