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Zhang Shidong

A more than 40 per cent slump in Chinese humanoid robot maker Unitree Robotics since listing has sounded regulatory caution for the industry, with speculation swirling that Beijing may tighten approval of the peer listings.
The regulators would heighten scrutiny over humanoid makers seeking initial public offerings (IPOs) on the mainland’s exchanges, according to media reports. The sustainability of revenue growth, earnings prospects and applicants’ key capabilities of tech innovation would be the focus of regulatory surveillance, they said.
The shift is expected to affect companies including Deep Robotics and Leju Robot, which still remain unprofitable after filing for IPOs.
The change of the regulatory stance on one of China’s strategic industries came after the tumultuous post-debut performance of Unitree, the industry champion that is also known as Yushu Technology.
The stock has plunged 44 per cent, less than a month after it started trading on the tech-heavy Star Market on August 19, wiping out more than 200 billion yuan (US$29.8 billion) in market value. The rout stirred debates on whether the regulators are too lax with the listing bar for humanoid robot makers.
While a retreat in speculative bets may partially explain the meltdown in Unitree’s stock, which surged 460 per cent on the first day of trading, the valuation has far run ahead of the fundamentals.


Even after the decline, the Hangzhou-based company was capitalised at 190 billion yuan, translating into 347 times estimated earnings versus the average multiple of 118 for the Star Market. The stock was little changed at 469.80 yuan on Tuesday in Shanghai.
“The company’s fundamentals are insufficient to justify its valuation premium,” said Kelvin Lau, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Group in Hong Kong. “Unitree needs to accelerate research and development spending in AI large models to stay competitive.”
Unitree also needed to broaden its customer base for new revenue sources, with 70 per cent of its robot downstream applications concentrated on research and education, he said.
Unitree’s fall from grace put under the spotlight the vulnerability of the humanoid robotic industry, where the ratio of industrial commercialisation is still low and most industry players are struggling to make profits.
First-half profit for Unitree dropped 19 per cent from a year ago excluding extraordinary gains, while revenue growth slumped to 48 per cent from more than 300 per cent in 2025.
Leju Robot, which has filed for an IPO on Shenzhen’s ChiNext board, reported a loss of 69.8 million yuan last year, the biggest over the past three years. Shenzhen Dobot expected its first-half loss to widen to as much as 120 million yuan because of increased costs. The Shenzhen exchange approved its stock sale in July.
While Deep Robotics, whose listing application was accepted by the Shanghai exchange in May, posted a profit last year, the company said its profit margin might shrink in the first half because of falling product prices.


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Beijing tipped to tighten approvals, heighten scrutiny of humanoid makers as leading robotics specialist reports a 44% stock slump


Beijing tipped to tighten approvals, heighten scrutiny of humanoid makers as leading robotics specialist reports a 44% stock slump.


Unitree’s US$30 billion stock wipe-off spurs regulatory caution on humanoid robot IPOs

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing tipped to tighten approvals, heighten scrutiny of humanoid makers as leading robotics specialist reports a 44% stock slump

Beijing tipped to tighten approvals, heighten scrutiny of humanoid makers as leading robotics specialist reports a 44% stock slump