The capital markets in the Chinese mainland are rolling out the welcome mat for the country's most promising technology firms, marking a significant shift toward "hard-tech" investments. The latest milestone in this trend was achieved by Unitree, a pioneer in humanoid robotics, which has cleared a major regulatory hurdle for its public debut.
On Monday, the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market listing committee officially approved Unitree's initial public offering (IPO) application. This move clears the path for the first "embodied artificial intelligence" listing on the Chinese A-share market, signaling a new era for AI-driven hardware.
Unitree plans to raise 4.2 billion yuan ($620 million) to fuel its ambitious growth strategy. The funds are earmarked for four primary objectives: the research and development of intelligent robot models, advancements in robotics hardware, new product innovation, and the establishment of a smart manufacturing base.
Beyond its financial goals, Unitree is gaining significant international traction. The company announced Monday that it was selected by Nvidia for the first robotics design the US chipmaker is selling to prestigious research institutions, including Stanford and ETH Zurich, highlighting the global competitiveness of the company's technology.
What has captured the attention of market analysts is the unprecedented speed of the approval process. Unitree's application was approved just 73 days after its filing was accepted on March 20. This sets a new record for the fastest review under the STAR Market's pre-review mechanism, which was introduced in July 2025 to improve efficiency for companies operating in critical core technology sectors.
Unitree's breakthrough is not an isolated event but part of a broader "hard-tech" IPO wave sweeping through the region. Recently, CXMT, the world's fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer, was approved for listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board. Driven by the "AI supercycle," CXMT's memory chip business earned 33 billion yuan ($4.58 billion) in the first quarter alone, nearly offsetting a decade of accumulated deficits.
Further fueling this momentum is YMTC, the only 3D NAND flash memory manufacturer in the Chinese mainland, which began pre-IPO preparations in May. According to Counterpoint data, YMTC's market share rose to 11% in the last quarter of 2025, ranking sixth globally and trailing just behind industry giants like SanDisk and Micron. Experts expect the company to potentially become a trillion-yuan stock.
This accelerating wave of high-tech IPOs underscores the rapid ascent of advanced manufacturing and core technologies in the Chinese mainland. For global investors and business professionals, these developments significantly enhance the pricing authority and investment appeal of A-shares in the high-tech sector.
Reference(s):
Unitree gets STAR Market green light in China's 'hard-tech' IPO wave
cgtn.com
