Unitree, the world's largest humanoid robot maker, is set to debut on Shanghai's Star Market in the second half, offering investors a rare window into the android industry's commercial potential. The Hangzhou-based company, known for its dancing and boxing robots, reported shipping 5,500 units last year and posted a 59.8% gross margin in the first nine months.

The planned listing implies a valuation of around Rmb40bn ($5.9bn), yielding a price-to-sales ratio of 21.1 that analysts say reflects high hopes for expanding use cases. While 74% of its recent revenue came from research and education orders, the company is betting on growing demand in tourism and industrial settings to justify its premium valuation. Competitor UBTech trades at a similar 21.2 P/S ratio despite shipping far fewer units.

Analysts caution that Unitree must prove the robots can transition from novelty to practical labor replacement. Though the company reduced costs by building components in-house and earmarked nearly half of its fundraising for AI software, only 9% of shipments went to real-world applications like logistics, according to external researchers. The IPO represents a test of whether hardware success alone can sustain a $6 billion valuation.