Unitree’s blockbuster Shanghai debut has made China’s humanoid-robot boom impossible to ignore. It has also sharpened the central question: are investors buying a viable industrial revolution, or a dazzling demonstration still waiting for its breakthrough?

The Hangzhou company, known for viral dancing and backflipping robots, raised roughly $900 million in its STAR Market IPO. Its shares jumped as much as 629% before closing 460% higher, putting the company’s valuation at about $66 billion in one account—well beyond U.S. rival Figure AI’s last reported $39 billion valuation.¹ The frenzy reflected both Beijing’s strategic support for humanoid robotics and China’s commanding early shipment position: domestic firms accounted for an estimated 97% of global humanoid deliveries in the first half of 2026, with Unitree holding about 31%.²

The first flush did not last. Shares fell about 19% the following day and another 2% on Friday, a reminder that a spectacular opening trade is not the same as durable demand.³ Unitree reported $252 million in 2025 revenue and $89 million in profit, but much of its business remains tied to research rather than widespread workplace deployment.¹

Then came the company’s own reality check. Speaking at Beijing’s World Robot Conference, founder Wang Xingxing said humanoids could reach their “ChatGPT moment” in “2 to 3 years at the fastest, and 5 or even 10 years at the slowest.”³ His threshold is steep: robots must enter unfamiliar homes or environments and complete roughly 80% of tasks from voice or text instructions.

That caution aligns with sceptics who argue flashy movement is not adaptable intelligence. HSBC analysts warned that, without a major leap in AI-model capability, the current shipment upswing is “unlikely to be sustained over the next 1-2 years.”¹ A new U.S. ban on foreign-made robots adds another pressure point for a company that drew significant overseas revenue, even as it becomes a national champion at home.¹