Unitree's IPO filing: what the numbers show about humanoid and robot dog sales

Unitree's listing on Shanghai's STAR Market in August 2026 made public a rare set of audited sales figures for a humanoid robot maker. As reported, revenue reached about 1.7 billion yuan in 2025, humanoids passed robot dogs as the largest product line, gross margin was about 60%, and research and education buyers accounted for most sales. Factories accounted for only a small share.

That matters beyond investors. Most humanoid companies publish demonstrations and targets, not invoices. Unitree's disclosures show who is actually paying for these machines today, roughly what one unit earns the manufacturer, and how much of the market is still experimental. This article summarises the figures as reported by Reuters, the Associated Press and Chinese state media. It is general information, not investment advice.

The listing in brief

Unitree, based in Hangzhou, priced its shares at 150.80 yuan, raising about 6.1 billion yuan for 10% of its enlarged share capital. That valued the company at around 61 billion yuan (about 9 billion US dollars), Reuters reported on 6 August 2026. Days later, Reuters reported that retail investors had oversubscribed the offer more than 8,000 times, with the IPO price equal to about 219 times 2025 earnings.

Trading began on 19 August 2026. The Associated Press reported that the shares rose as much as 629% in the first session and closed at 845 yuan, 460% above the offer price. The rally did not last. By 10 September, Global Times reported that the stock had roughly halved from its intraday peak of 1,100 yuan.

The share price is not the subject here. What is useful to the wider industry is the operating data that came with the listing.

Revenue: small base, very fast growth

According to figures from the prospectus reported by Global Times, Unitree's revenue was 159.13 million yuan in 2023, 392.77 million yuan in 2024 and 1.70 billion yuan in 2025. That is more than a tenfold increase in two years, but from a modest starting point. At current exchange rates, 2025 revenue was roughly 250 million US dollars, which the AP also gives.

For context, that is a mid-sized hardware business, not a mass-market one. It is also one of the few humanoid makers with revenue at this scale that can be checked against regulated filings.

Growth has slowed since. Global Times reported that revenue for the first half of 2026 rose 48.54% year on year. In its first quarterly report as a listed company, Unitree said third-quarter revenue rose 70% to 665 million yuan, while net profit fell 17.4% to 112.7 million yuan as research and development spending more than doubled, according to Reuters, as published by The Standard on 28 October 2026. Revenue for the first nine months of 2026 was 1.82 billion yuan, already above the whole of 2025.

Units: robot dogs by volume, humanoids by value

The prospectus figures reported by Global Times show that between 2023 and 2025 Unitree sold 33,294 quadruped robots and 5,632 humanoid robots. Humanoid shipments in 2025 alone exceeded 5,500 units, which means almost all of the company's humanoid sales happened in a single year.

By volume, robot dogs still dominate: across the three years, Unitree sold almost six quadrupeds for every humanoid. By value, the picture has flipped. Reuters reported that humanoid robots brought in 867.8 million yuan in 2025, about half of total revenue, making them Unitree's largest business ahead of its four-legged robots.

The prospectus figures, as reported, do not include an average selling price. A rough division of 2025 humanoid revenue by the 5,500-plus units shipped gives something like 150,000–160,000 yuan per humanoid. That is our own arithmetic, not a disclosed figure. It ignores accessories, software, discounts and differences between models such as the Unitree G1 and the larger Unitree H1. It still suggests that the typical humanoid Unitree sold in 2025 was a compact, relatively affordable research platform rather than a full-size industrial machine. For the list prices of Unitree's newer models, see our article on Unitree H2, H2-X and R1 specs and prices.

Global Times later reported, in an article on 19 October 2026, that Unitree produced more than 6,500 humanoids in 2025 against more than 5,500 shipped. The gap between production and shipments is worth watching in future reports.

Margins and profit

The margins are the most striking figure. Global Times reported that Unitree's gross margin rose from 44.22% in 2023 to 60.13% in 2025. The same report said the company makes most of its key components in-house, with externally sourced parts making up only a minority of costs. Vertical integration of motors, reducers and other actuator parts is a plausible explanation for the margin, although the prospectus summaries do not break margin down by product.

Profit figures need careful reading. Global Times reported a net profit of 278.21 million yuan for 2025, and a higher figure of 590.75 million yuan for net profit attributable to the parent company after excluding non-recurring items. The large gap means one-off items weighed heavily on the reported result. The coverage we checked does not itemise them, so readers should not treat either figure alone as the full picture.

The trend in 2026 is mixed. Reuters reported that adjusted profit in the first quarter of 2026 fell 52.6% year on year to 40.3 million yuan, even as revenue rose 68.5%. Global Times reported that first-half adjusted net profit fell 19.34% to 244 million yuan. In the third quarter, net profit fell again despite strong sales, with research and development equal to 19.1% of revenue, according to Reuters. Over the first nine months, however, net profit rose 270.5% to 386.7 million yuan.

Who is buying: labs, schools and showrooms

The customer breakdown is the most useful number for anyone trying to judge real demand. For the first nine months of 2025, Global Times reported that research and education customers accounted for 73.6% of Unitree's sales, commercial and consumer uses for 17.39%, and industrial applications for 9.01%.

In plain terms, most of Unitree's robots go to universities, research groups, developers and schools that use them as platforms for work on locomotion and AI. A smaller share goes to commercial uses such as exhibitions, retail and entertainment, which is where event robots sit. Factory deployments, the use case that dominates humanoid marketing, remain under a tenth of sales.

This is not unusual for an early technology. It does show that, on Unitree's own evidence, the humanoid market is still largely buying robots to learn from and to show, not to replace workers.

Geography and risk

Overseas sales were 731.66 million yuan in 2025, or 43.65% of main-business revenue, according to Global Times. Reuters and the AP both reported that the United States accounted for about 13% of revenue.

Reuters also noted that the prospectus lists US tariffs, limits on government purchases, export controls and the possible loss of existing approvals as risks to overseas growth and to component supply. The prospectus says current products have the approvals they need, but future models could face restrictions. For buyers outside China, that is a supply-chain point to keep in mind, not a reason for alarm.

What the filings do not tell you

Several things are missing from the public reporting. There is no breakdown of margin by product line and no disclosed average price by model. There is also no clear split between robots sold outright and robots used in rental or event fleets. Market-share estimates published around the listing come from different research firms and do not agree, so we have left them out.

The numbers also cover only one company. Unitree's mix of research-led demand and high margins may not hold for rivals selling larger, more expensive machines.

What this means for event organisers

• The robots at events are mostly the same ones in labs. The commercial and consumer segment, which includes exhibitions and entertainment, was about 17% of Unitree's sales in the period reported. Event use is an established secondary market, not the main one.
• Robot dogs remain the volume product. Unitree sold far more quadrupeds than humanoids, so a Unitree Go2 or similar may be easier to source than a humanoid on short notice. Our guide to choosing between a humanoid, a robot dog and a telepresence robot explains the trade-offs.
• Manufacturer prices are only part of a hire quote. Hardware is a fraction of the cost of a staffed, programmed appearance; see how much it costs to hire a humanoid robot.
• Expect fast model turnover. A company growing this quickly and spending heavily on research will refresh its line-up often, so confirm the exact model and software version in any booking.
• Read industry claims against filings. Where audited figures exist, they are a better guide to what humanoids really do today than demonstration videos.

Frequently asked questions

How many humanoid robots did Unitree sell according to its IPO filing?

According to prospectus figures reported by Global Times, Unitree sold 5,632 humanoid robots between 2023 and 2025, with more than 5,500 shipped in 2025 alone. Over the same three years it sold 33,294 quadruped robots. So robot dogs still lead by unit volume, although humanoids became the larger source of revenue in 2025, according to Reuters.

What was Unitree's revenue in 2025?

Unitree reported revenue of about 1.70 billion yuan for 2025, up from 392.77 million yuan in 2024 and 159.13 million yuan in 2023, according to prospectus figures reported by Global Times. Reuters reported that humanoid robots contributed 867.8 million yuan, about half of the total. Overseas markets accounted for 43.65% of main-business revenue.

Who buys most of Unitree's robots?

Research and education customers, such as universities, labs and schools, accounted for 73.6% of Unitree's sales in the first nine months of 2025, according to Global Times. Commercial and consumer uses, which include exhibitions and entertainment, made up 17.39%. Industrial applications accounted for only 9.01%. Most buyers therefore use the robots as development platforms rather than production equipment.

Is Unitree profitable?

Yes, on the reported figures. Global Times reported a 2025 net profit of 278.21 million yuan, and 590.75 million yuan after excluding non-recurring items, with gross margin of 60.13%. Profit has been uneven in 2026: third-quarter net profit fell 17.4% as research spending more than doubled, according to Reuters, while nine-month net profit rose 270.5%. This is not investment advice.

How this article was made: written by the humanoid4rent editorial team with AI assistance; every factual statement was checked against the sources listed below on 2026-10-31. Spotted an error? Write to info@humanoid4rent.com.