On April 1, Unitree was rumored to be in talks with Ant Group and China Mobile for targeted financing, with the specific investment shares still under negotiation. In response, Unitree's founder Wang Xingxing promptly denied the news, stating, "The information is false."

Since its debut on the Spring Festival Gala, Unitree has garnered significant attention, frequently making headlines with new financing rumors that were eventually debunked. To date, Unitree has completed nine rounds of financing, and Wang Xingxing has previously indicated that no new financing rounds are planned in the near future. Zhao Nan, an early investor in Unitree and founder of SevenUp Capital, has revealed that the company has been profitable every year since 2020.

On the same afternoon, Unitree officially launched the Unitree Dex5 dexterous hand. The Dex5 boasts 20 degrees of freedom (16 active + 4 passive) per hand, with all joints supporting smooth reverse drive (direct force control). Each hand is equipped with 94 tactile sensors, enabling it to perform a variety of tasks such as grasping and throwing fruits, playing poker, solving Rubik's cubes, and turning pages with ease, as shown in the video.

Unlike Unitree's previous videos showcasing dancing, running, somersaults, and spinning kicks, the release of the dexterous hand signifies a shift from "performance" to "functionality" for Unitree's robots. This shift addresses doubts about their working capabilities and truly demonstrates the transformative potential of new productivity on the production line.

From Unitree's "DNA" perspective, the self-developed dexterous hand aligns with its core components development path.

Currently, Unitree boasts a self-research rate of 90%, encompassing motors, drives, sensors, and more. The benefits of self-research are twofold: it establishes a competitive advantage in differentiated technical routes and enhances technological autonomy; it also reduces the overall machine cost, further strengthening the company's pricing power in sales.

Broadly speaking, the market share for dexterous hands is on the rise. According to Huaan Securities' forecast, the global dexterous hand market size is expected to reach 27.6 billion yuan by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 50%. As products continue to iterate and mature, manufacturers specializing in dexterous hand development are poised to capture a significant market share leveraging their technological and pricing advantages.

Entering the market at this juncture not only fortifies Unitree's fine-tuned operational capabilities but also allows it to gain market share with dexterous hand products as an entry point.

However, the self-development of dexterous hands is not without challenges. It signifies an increase in research and manufacturing investment costs for Unitree. Additionally, the current trend in dexterous hand development is marked by a "price war."

On the side of full-machine manufacturers, many companies have opted to develop their own dexterous hands and have released related products, making it a key development direction. Besides Unitree, Xingdong Jiyuan's XHand1 features 12 degrees of freedom per hand with a maximum grip force of 80N, capable of lifting a 25Kg dumbbell effortlessly. Magic Atom's MagicHand S01, with 11 degrees of freedom per hand, can handle loads up to 5 kilograms and exceed 20 kilograms in working scenarios, meeting the application needs of various industries, commerce, and households.

In the upstream industrial chain, numerous domestic dexterous hand manufacturers are vying for market share by adjusting prices. They are forgoing expensive foreign core components and collaborating with domestic suppliers offering lower prices, aiming to reduce the overall cost of dexterous hands through technological advancements and cost optimization.

In 2024, InTime Robotics led the way by reducing the retail price of a single dexterous hand by 15,000 yuan. Subsequently, Elephant Robotics launched the three-finger dexterous hand myGripper H100, successfully penetrating the thousand-yuan market with a pricing of 6999 yuan. The Linker Hand series from Lingxin Qiaoshou is priced at less than 50,000 yuan, representing only 1/20 of the cost of the Shadow Hand produced by the UK's Shadow Robot Company.

Note: The featured image is sourced from the Unitree official website.