Robotics IPO eclipses fast-fashion listing as AI hype outshines e-commerce

Unitree, the Chinese maker of humanoid robots that performed at the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, is set to list on Shanghai’s STAR market with a target raise of 6.1 billion yuan and a post-IPO valuation near $9 billion. The offering has attracted massive retail demand, with the public tranche reportedly oversubscribed by more than 8,000 times. In contrast, fast-fashion giant Shein is preparing a Hong Kong IPO that could fetch up to $3 billion and value the company at $25-30 billion, a steep discount from its 2024 valuation.

Investors are favoring Unitree as enthusiasm for AI and robotics eclipses that for e-commerce platforms. Unitree posted 1.7 billion yuan in revenue last year, a fourfold increase, and earned a net profit of 600 million yuan, while many rivals remain loss-making. The IPO occurs as the U.S. FCC moves to block imports of foreign-made humanoid and quadruped robots over security concerns, and as other Chinese AI firms such as CXMT, DeepSeek and Moonshot AI pursue listings on Shanghai or Hong Kong exchanges.