[Beijing = E-Daily Lee Myeongcheol Correspondent] Unitree (Chinese name: Weishukeji), a robotics company seeking a listing on the Chinese stock market, recorded a high subscription ratio even among retail investors. Unitree had already seen strong demand from institutional investors, driving its offering price to a high, and riding this momentum, expectations for a post-IPO stock price rise have also grown.

According to local media outlets such as China’s Meirjingji on the 11th, Unitree recorded a success rate of 0.018% in the retail investor subscription held the previous day.

In this subscription, while there were approximately 9.78 million participating accounts, only 5,525 accounts were actually allocated shares. Consequently, the success rate stood at 0.012%, or 1 in 8,288. This means the competition ratio for the retail subscription was 8,288 to 1.

In China, IPO regulations include a “reallocation” provision stipulating that if the competition ratio for the first subscription round exceeds 100-to-1, a portion of the shares allocated to institutional investors must be reallocated to retail investors. Applying this rule, the final online allocation was set at 9,707,000 shares. This represents approximately 30% of the total offering, excluding the strategic allocation. Consequently, the final success rate rose slightly.

Unitree had previously set the offering price at 150.8 yuan per share—about 50% higher than market expectations—during the bookbuilding process for institutional investors held on the 5th and 6th.

The amount of funds raised through the public offering was expanded from the previously estimated 4 billion yuan (approximately 839.8 billion won) to 6.1 billion yuan (approximately 1.2808 trillion won). Based on the offering price, the company’s market capitalization after listing is expected to be around 61 billion yuan (approximately 12.8 trillion won).

Headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Unitree is a leading Chinese robotics company that began with quadruped robots and has since developed humanoid robots such as the “H1” and “G1,” as well as the rider-operated “GD-01.”

Through this IPO, Unitree will list on the STAR Market (a market dedicated to science and technology stocks; Chinese name: Kezhangban) of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, often referred to as the “Chinese Nasdaq.” While the humanoid robot company UBTECH is currently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, this marks the first time a company in this sector has listed on the Chinese stock market.

Last year, the company recorded annual revenue of 1.699 billion yuan (approximately 356.7 billion won). Revenue for the first half of this year is projected to reach up to 1.128 billion yuan (approximately 236.8 billion won), representing a 45.4% increase compared to the same period last year.

In its prospectus, Unitree outlined the allocation of proceeds from the public offering as follows: △ Research and development (R&D) of intelligent robot models (2.02 billion yuan) △ development of robot bodies (1.11 billion yuan) △ R&D for new intelligent robot products (445 million yuan) △ and the construction of an intelligent robot manufacturing base (624 million yuan). In addition, the company now has approximately 2 billion yuan (about 419.9 billion won) in additional available funds, expanding its investment capacity.

Fundraising by Chinese tech companies is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the recent listing of Changxin Memory Technology (CXMT) on the Chinese stock market, where it has risen to the top spot in market capitalization.

In an editorial published that day, the state-run Global Times reported, “While the flow of global technology capital was essentially a one-way street toward the West, it is now shifting its focus eastward,” adding, “Whether it is CXMT or Unitree, the fact that they have gone public reflects that the Chinese capital market is evolving into a hub for value discovery related to cutting-edge global technology.”

According to the Global Times, total funding in China’s embodied intelligence sector this year reached 93.5 billion yuan (approximately 19.6 trillion won), more than five times the amount from the same period last year. Robotics hardware manufacturers also raised 5.6 billion yuan (approximately 1.2 trillion won).

While there is still a long way to go before humanoid robots achieve large-scale commercialization, the assessment is that support from the capital market is necessary for long-term industrial development. The Global Times noted, “Although further breakthroughs are needed in areas such as technological maturity, cost control, safety and reliability, and the expansion of application scenarios, no new technology develops overnight,” adding that “the very fact that Chinese robotics companies are moving toward the capital markets is a significant development for global technology observers.”