Backed by DeepSeek, Unitree IPO tests investor appetite for China’s AI robotics boom

DeepSeek, which invested 141 million yuan, will co-develop AI models and embodied-intelligence technology with Unitree

Widely billed as “mainland China’s first humanoid stock”, Unitree has priced its IPO on Shanghai’s Star Market at 150.8 yuan per share, according to a filing released Thursday evening. The firm will sell 40.45 million new shares to raise 6.1 billion yuan – above its initial 4.2 billion yuan target.

DeepSeek, which invested 141 million yuan bound by a three-year lock-up period, agreed to co-develop AI models and embodied-intelligence technology with Unitree. The two firms would also give each other priority access in areas such as robot procurement and AI model services, Unitree said.

A valuation ‘ceiling’

Unitree’s IPO would serve as a valuation anchor – and effectively the ceiling – for other companies in the embodied-intelligence space, said Zheng Hualiang, founder of Leap VC, a Hangzhou-based venture capital firm investing in AI hardware and foundational models.