Chinese robot tycoon Wang Xingxing’s wealth jumps to $16B as investors bet on world’s biggest humanoid-robot maker

Shares of the Hangzhou-based robot maker jumped as much as 629% on Wednesday, giving the company a market cap of 445 billion yuan (US$66 billion), according to the South China Morning Post.

Wang, 36, first joined the ranks of billionaires in early August when Forbes estimated his stake to be worth $2.4 billion at the time. Unitree is the world’s biggest humanoid-robot maker by sales, even though by shipments it ranks behind Shanghai-based AgiBot.

Investor enthusiasm surged as buyers piled into a Chinese national technology champion. The market is betting on the company’s potential amid government support for advanced industries ranging from robotics to semiconductors, said Shen Meng, Beijing-based managing director of boutique investment bank Chanson & Co.

Wang Xingxing, CEO of Unitree Robotics, speaks at sub-forum titled “Understanding China’s Approach to Ai” at the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, also known as Summer Davos, in north China’s Tianjin Municipality, June 26, 2025. Photo bya Xinhua via AFP

“A 629% surge is within expectations,” Shen said, as quoted by Forbes. “But Unitree’s human-shaped robots are mainly used for research, teaching and performing purposes.”

In its prospectus, Unitree highlighted that the humanoid industry as a whole remains in the early stages of commercialization. In the short term, its humanoids will primarily be used for R&D and stage performances.

The longer-term goal is to have them assist with factory work and household chores as hardware costs decline and advances in AI make the machines smarter.

The potential could be enormous. Led by China and the U.S., global humanoid shipments are expected to jump from 20,000 units last year to 1.2 million units by 2030, creating a $37 billion market in less than five years, according to an April report from BofA Global Research.

As their capabilities improve, the machines will be “gradually adopted in industrial & commercial scenarios in the coming 3-4 years,” the report said.

Unitree’s revenue surged more than 300% year-on-year to 1.7 billion yuan last year, while net profit jumped almost 200% to 278.2 million yuan (US$41.3 million), according to its prospectus. Its humanoid robots have an average selling price of 166,400 yuan.

Two robot boxes while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits the company Unitree Robotics in Zhejiang Province and is given a tour of the presentation rooms by founder and CEO Wang Xingxing. Photo by dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP

Two robot boxes while German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visits the company Unitree Robotics in Zhejiang Province and is given a tour of the presentation rooms by founder and CEO Wang Xingxing. Photo by dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP

Unitree nonetheless faces headwinds, including geopolitical risks, as it expands. The Trump administration announced in July a ban on imports of new Chinese humanoids and quadruped robot dogs.

The company, which generated more than 10% of its sales from the U.S. last year, said in its prospectus that the ban does not apply to products it already sells in America, but it needs U.S. government approval for newer models.

The company’s dancing robots have captivated China since performing at the country’s 2025 and 2026 Spring Festival galas.

Unitree launched a high-speed robot dubbed “Superman” shortly before its market debut. The robot can jump to a height of two meters and reach a top speed of 12.66 meters per second, surpassing human records, according to the company.

Earlier this year, Unitree set Chinese social media ablaze by unveiling the GD01, a 3-meter-tall transformable robot that can carry a human pilot in its cockpit and is priced from $650,000.

In its filing, the company described the product as a tool capable of adapting to complex environments.

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