China’s Unitree Robotics eyeing $7 billion IPO valuation: sources

STORY: Unitree Robotics could be on course for one of the most high-profile IPOs in China in yearsSources said the firm is looking at a valuation of as much as $7 billion for its planned initial public offering.The launch could test investor interest in the frontier industry of humanoid robots.The Chinese firm’s robots previously caught the popular imagination globally when it released videos of them showing human-like capabilities.Its founder Wang Xingxing was also among a small number of executives who attended a rare meeting with President Xi Jinping in February. Startups including Unitree and DeepSeek have proved popular, and it comes with Beijing investing billions of dollars in robotics, semiconductors and AI.Unitree said last week on its X account that it was actively advancing the IPO preparations.The firm said it expected to submit the listing application documents in the fourth quarter of the year.It did not provide other details, including a timeline for a potential listing.The sources said Unitree plans to list on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market. Unitree won major new investors in a previous June funding round, including giants like Alibaba, Tencent and Geely.