Chinese humanoid robots are gaining momentum: BYD and Unitree move forward
English translation from Unibot. Source published 2026-06-11.
This week, Chinese humanoid robots took another step into industrial planning. BYD has confirmed it is developing its own humanoids, and Unitree Robotics has passed a key milestone before listing on the Shanghai STAR Market. This news, compiled by Gasgoo in a weekly review, shows that the market is moving from prototype announcements to actual production capacity, funding and first commercial channels.
Large manufacturers are joining the humanoid race
Stella Li, executive vice president of BYD, said the company is betting on industrial robots - they can be immediately tested in its own factories. At the same time, humanoid robots are also in development.
As early as late 2024, BYD's embodied intelligence team was recruiting algorithmic engineers, designers, and simulation specialists, according to Gasgoo. Job openings focused on creating custom robot bodies, system design, perception and decision making for industrial problems.
XPENG Robotics is also moving from research to production - even though head of product planning Shi Xiaoxin was rumored to have resigned in early June. Gasgoo reports: the company is aiming for serial production by the end of 2026, and in the first quarter of 2027 it plans to supply robot consultants to its retail stores. In addition, XPENG is already building a full-fledged production base for humanoids in Guangzhou.
Unitree IPO adds boost to capital market
Unitree's STAR Market listing application was approved by the Shanghai Stock Exchange committee on June 1, just 73 days after submission. The company plans to issue a minimum of 40.44 million shares and raise 4.20 billion yuan (about $580 million). Based on a minimum free float of 10%, the company's valuation is approximately 42 billion yuan (about $5.8 billion).
The prospectus states: the funds will be used to develop models, robot bodies, new products and the construction of production facilities.
The same review noted a broader wave of funding around humanoid platforms:
Spirit AI raised 1.50 billion yuan (about $207 million) in Series A+ - for fundamental models, real-world data infrastructure and commercial implementation.
Astribot closed a Series B of over 1 billion yuan (about $138 million), raising its valuation above 10 billion yuan.
Tactile sensors and humanoid robotics company Parsi (investors include BYD and JD.com) is rumored to be considering an IPO in Hong Kong.
Unitree was also featured in a new reference development together with NVIDIA. According to Gasgoo, the H2+ platform combines the 1.8-meter-tall Unitree H2 chassis with NVIDIA's compute platform, fundamental models, and simulation support. The five-fingered hand was supplied by Singaporean Sharpa. The announcement positions Unitree not just as a listing candidate, but as a hardware supplier for broader humanoid developments.
Commercial humanoids enter the market
UBTech consumer brand UWORLD has opened pre-orders on JD.com for what it calls a full-size ultrabionic humanoid robot. The official release is scheduled for June 30. The product card contains the following characteristics:
Male model: height 183 cm, weight 42 kg.
Female model: height 168 cm, weight 35.2 kg.
Both have 88 degrees of freedom, Wi-Fi support and battery life from 2 to 4 hours.
The page also notes that robots do not support secondary development.
UBTech reported that revenue from full-size robots and embodied intelligence solutions reached 821 million yuan (about $113 million) in 2025, an increase of more than 22 times year-on-year. During the year, 1079 units were shipped. This is important: in the review, this is one of the few clear indicators of actually delivered humanoid systems, and not of announced prototypes.
Other developers are still in earlier stages. Xinghaitu has unveiled its first bipedal humanoid, Kengo, a platform built on standardized joint modules to facilitate mass production. Schaeffler, in turn, reported that it tested the task of folding boxes using a humanoid from Spirit AI on a real production line. This is an example of those plant operations that will show what systems can go beyond demonstrations.
Judging by the announcements this week, Chinese humanoid robots are becoming less like isolated laboratory projects and more like assets that need factories, balance sheets and repeatable use cases. The next frontier is whether companies like BYD, XPENG, Unitree and UBTech can turn hiring, fundraising and pre-sales into sustainable adoption. Especially in industrial environments where operators can measure uptime, task success and costs.