China endorses IPO registration for humanoid robot maker Unitree

The Shanghai Stock Exchange has approved the initial public offering (IPO) registration of Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics, the exchange's official website showed on Monday.

Unitree Robotics officially submitted its IPO application on March 20. On July 2, the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued an approval document agreeing to the company's registration application for IPO and its listing on the sci-tech innovation board, also known as the STAR market.

Established in Aug 2016 and based in Hangzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province, Unitree Robotics specializes in the development of high-performance humanoid and quadruped robots, robot components and embodied AI models. It was among the first in the world to commercialize high-performance quadruped robots and apply them to industrial scenarios.

The company's prospectus states it plans to raise 4.2 billion yuan (about 617.97 million U.S. dollars) through the IPO. The proceeds will be used for projects involving the research and development of intelligent robot models and robotic bodies, the development of new intelligent robot products, and the construction of an intelligent robot manufacturing base.

The firm's operating revenue rose from 159 million yuan in 2023 to 393 million yuan in 2024, and reached nearly 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, the prospectus said.

In June 2025, the China Securities Regulatory Commission rolled out a package of measures to further reform the STAR Market, including a pilot pre-review mechanism for IPO applications from high-quality technology companies. Unitree Robotics is the second company to file an IPO application under this mechanism.

The STAR Market was inaugurated in June 2019 at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. It is designed to bolster companies in the high-tech and strategic emerging sectors.

China endorses IPO registration for humanoid robot maker Unitree

Hong Kong's stock market stayed afloat Friday despite a wave of lock‑up expiries from major listings, said China Global Television Network (CGTN) analyst Timothy Pope.

Lock‑up expiries occur when restrictions on early investors selling shares after IPOs are lifted, often adding volatility to trading.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 0.60 percent to close at 24,175.12 points, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index gained 0.52 percent to 8,039.19. The Hang Seng Tech Index slipped 0.21 percent to 4,721.66.

Pope noted the market's resilience, pointing out that the Hang Seng finished the week up about 3.5 percent even as lock‑up releases pressured individual stocks.

"Hong Kong's markets definitely in strong shape on Friday. The Hang Seng [Index] closed 0.6 percent higher but was up around 3.5 percent for the week as a whole, I think. The market really stayed afloat through a wave of lock-up expiries. This week we had the two big ones -- Knowledge Atlas and MiniMax. They were initially doing okay. Knowledge Atlas in particular managed to gain in the wake of 6 percent of its outstanding shares being released for sale this week, but today it was down 19 percent. Minimax was down both days as well. This was always going to be a tougher one because 45 percent of the company's outstanding shares came out of lockup all in one go. Today it fell 9.6 percent. This week also saw the market debut from Apple contractor Luxshare, and its secondary listing in Hong Kong. Today it was up 1.5 percent. That strong IPO pipeline in Hong Kong as well really has set the index on a strong run despite the volatility that we are seeing on the Asian markets recently," said Pope.

Hong Kong stocks hold firm despite mass lock-up expiries