Entering a Pivotal Phase for Listing.

"Investor Network" Leads | Xie Yingjie

On October 23, according to Qichacha, Unitree Robotics underwent a name change. The company's official name, previously 'Hangzhou Unitree Robotics Co., Ltd.', was updated to 'Unitree Robotics Co., Ltd.'. Additionally, Wang Xingxing transitioned from a director overseeing company affairs to the chairman.

This strategic move is widely seen by the market as the company's proactive effort to 'de-regionalize' during the IPO sprint phase, adopting a more neutral and concise brand identity to better face scrutiny from the capital market.

Name Change to Shed 'Regional' Identity Again

On July 18, information from the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission revealed that Unitree Robotics had submitted its listing tutoring registration with the Zhejiang Securities Regulatory Bureau, with CITIC Securities serving as its tutoring institution, marking the official commencement of its IPO process.

In September of this year, Unitree Robotics announced that it is actively advancing its IPO preparations and anticipates submitting its listing application documents in the fourth quarter of this year. If successful, Unitree Robotics' IPO will stand out as one of the largest and most prominent listings of a local Chinese technology company in recent years.

According to a recent tutoring progress report submitted by CITIC Securities to regulatory authorities, Unitree Robotics approved the 'Proposal on Company Name Change' at its 2025 Fifth Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders.

Unitree Robotics is no stranger to name changes. In May of this year, the company completed its restructuring from 'Hangzhou Unitree Robotics Co., Ltd.' to 'Hangzhou Unitree Robotics Co., Ltd. (Joint-Stock)'. Now, the 'Hangzhou' prefix has been removed, a change that occurred within just five months.

Behind these frequent name changes lies a rapid expansion of the company's business scope and brand positioning.

Public information indicates that Unitree Robotics, a robotics startup headquartered in Hangzhou, was established in 2016. It initially focused on quadruped robots and entered the humanoid robot sector in 2023. After its humanoid robots made an appearance on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, founder and CEO Wang Xingxing attended a private enterprise symposium, which brought the company into the spotlight.

Founder Wang Xingxing revealed at the Summer Davos Forum that the company's annual revenue has exceeded 1 billion yuan, with an employee base of around 1,000 and overseas revenue accounting for nearly half. As quadruped robots are deployed in industrial settings across 52 countries and humanoid robots receive joint R&D invitations from multinationals such as Mercedes-Benz and Siemens, the name 'Unitree' no longer adequately represents its global narrative. Thus, removing the regional label has become a natural choice.

From a regulatory standpoint, the name change is merely one of many standardized actions taken during the tutoring period. The report disclosed that the tutoring team is engaging in in-depth discussions with management regarding the allocation of raised funds, ensuring alignment with future technological roadmaps, capacity layouts, and market expansions. During this period, the company also underwent a board reshuffle, abolished the supervisory board, and appointed three independent directors, further aligning its governance structure with listed company standards. CITIC Securities stated in the report that the next phase will involve more detailed due diligence on legal, financial, and operational aspects, continuously tracking significant company changes, with tutoring expected to conclude within the year.

Notably, Unitree Robotics has chosen a traditional IPO route rather than a 'backdoor listing' approach, which is viewed by the industry as a more direct test of its technological commercialization capabilities and the value of its core robot assets.

Glory Comes with Underlying Challenges

At the recently held 2025 World Robot Conference, Unitree Robotics founder Wang Xingxing, when discussing the listing, stated that Unitree Robotics, now in its 9th year, could view the listing as a process of continued learning and growth, akin to a student's journey. The listing is comparable to the college entrance exam, enabling the enterprise to reach a more mature stage in management and operations.

The tutoring registration report reveals that Wang Xingxing is the controlling shareholder and actual controller of Unitree Robotics. Wang directly holds 23.8216% of the company's equity and controls an additional 10.9414% through Shanghai Yuyi Enterprise Management Consulting Partnership (Limited Partnership), giving him a total of 34.7630% control over the company.

The market generally anticipates that once tutoring is completed, Unitree Robotics will submit formal application materials between October and December, competing alongside already-queued humanoid robot and high-end equipment enterprises.

The company's latest release, the Unitree H2, standing 1.8 meters tall and weighing 70 kilograms, is capable of performing complex movements such as dancing, martial arts, and modeling runway walks. It is seen as another flagship product targeting industrial and service scenarios. Combined with its previously mass-produced quadruped robots, Unitree Robotics now boasts both consumer-grade and industry-grade product lines, with a global market share exceeding 60% in consumer-grade legged robots and a 68% market share in educational robot dogs across over 2,000 university labs in Europe and the Americas, providing tangible support for its listing valuation.

In terms of financing, Unitree Robotics completed the closing of its Series C funding round, which began last year, in June. Industry giants such as Tencent, China Mobile, Alibaba-affiliated capital, and Geely Holding participated, raising nearly 700 million yuan. Additionally, the Beijing Robot Industry Development Investment Fund, managed by Shoucheng Capital under Shoucheng Holdings Limited (00697.HK), made an additional investment in Unitree Robotics.

This year, Unitree Robotics' registered capital surged from 2.889 million yuan to 364 million yuan, a 125-fold increase, with its valuation reaching 10 billion yuan.

However, glory comes with its share of challenges. During the reporting period, the tutoring team identified 'argumentation of investment projects for raised funds' as a major existing issue, indicating regulatory concerns over the rationality of fundraising investments, capacity absorption, and technological iteration risks. The company still needs to address several critical questions that the capital market must confront head-on: How will humanoid robot products truly be commercialized? Where is the consumer market? Can the valuations given by investors be realized in actual commerce?

As the humanoid robot sector heats up, with giants like Huawei, BYD, and DJI making their moves, Unitree Robotics' ability to sustain technological leadership and open up broader markets with capital support will determine its ultimate success in landing on the A-share market with a high valuation. The name change is just the beginning; the real test lies ahead.

Public information indicates that humanoid robots represent one of the hottest emerging tech sectors in the past two years. Currently, companies in the humanoid robot sector can be divided into two main camps: one consists of large automakers crossing over from the automotive industry, including Tesla, GAC Group, and XPeng Motors; the other comprises startups in the robotics field.

More stringent skepticism comes from primary market investors. In March of this year, Jin Shajiang, Managing Partner of GSR Ventures, publicly expressed doubts about the application prospects of humanoid robots, stating, 'I've asked several CEOs of relevant companies where their potential customers are. The demand side they mention seems more like a scenario they've imagined themselves—who is willing to spend hundreds of thousands to buy a robot to do these tasks?'

Currently, Unitree Robotics' main products for overseas market sales are robot dogs, with domestic starting prices around 10,000 yuan and European market starting prices around 1,600 USD. The main humanoid robot product is the G1, with domestic starting prices at 99,000 yuan and overseas pricing starting at 16,000 USD. The larger humanoid robot H1, which appeared on the Spring Festival Gala, is priced between 60,000-90,000 USD, with domestic prices around 650,000 yuan.

The IPO is not just an endpoint but the starting point for the next phase. From R&D to application scenarios, Unitree Robotics must continue to prove that it is not merely an accidental success story but a scalable model for the industry. (Produced by Thinker Finance) ■

Source: Investor Network