Unitree Robotics makes money mainly by designing, producing and selling legged robots, humanoid robots and robot components. The company is still private, but it has passed Shanghai STAR Market listing-committee review as of June 2026. Its disclosed FY2025 revenue was RMB 1.699 billion, with net profit of about RMB 278 million and core-business gross margin of 60.13%. Reviewed Q1 2026 indicators show revenue grew 68.49% year over year, while adjusted net profit declined 52.55% as operating expenses rose faster than sales.
The business model is hardware-led. Unitree sells robots and related modules through a mix of direct sales, distributors and online platforms. Customers include technology companies, universities, research institutions, agents and e-commerce buyers in China and overseas. The company keeps final robot assembly and core-component assembly in-house, while outsourcing or custom-procuring many non-core parts and processes such as mechanical parts, PCBA placement, injection molding and selected machining.
Main revenue streams are
- Humanoid robots: This became the largest category in 2025. In the first nine months of 2025, humanoids generated RMB 595.19 million, equal to 51.53% of main-business revenue, with a gross margin of 62.91%.
- Quadruped robots: This is Unitree’s original core category and remains a major business. In the first nine months of 2025, quadrupeds generated RMB 487.99 million, equal to 42.25% of main-business revenue, with a gross margin of 55.49%.
- Robot components: Unitree sells components such as manipulators, LiDAR, dexterous hands, joint modules, compute kits, navigation kits, charging docks, batteries and control terminals. Components generated RMB 66.54 million, or 5.76% of main-business revenue, in the first nine months of 2025.
- Other products: This is a small category that includes products such as smart fitness equipment derived from robot joint force-control technology. It represented 0.45% of main-business revenue in the first nine months of 2025.
Unitree’s operating segments are best understood by product category rather than by geography, because no reliable current geographic revenue split is publicly available. China is central to the company’s position. Unitree is headquartered in Hangzhou, operates major production, R&D and office facilities in China, and is pursuing a domestic A-share STAR Market IPO. The company also sells through overseas channels, including online and distributor routes.
The company’s main competitive advantages are vertical integration, cost control and fast product iteration. Unitree self-develops key technologies including motors, reducers, controllers, LiDAR, perception and motion-control algorithms, dexterous hands and integrated joints. This lowers dependence on external suppliers for core robot performance and supports lower entry prices. IPO materials cite the Go2 Air quadruped starting below RMB 10,000, the G1 basic humanoid starting at RMB 85,000, and the R1 Air starting at RMB 29,900.
Unitree’s market position has shifted from robot-dog specialist to one of China’s leading humanoid and legged-robot platforms. Humanoids rose from negligible revenue in 2023 to 27.60% of main-business revenue in 2024 and 51.53% in the first nine months of 2025. Public reports state that Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, placing it among the top global humanoid shippers. TrendForce expects Unitree and AgiBot to dominate China’s 2026 humanoid robot output, together approaching roughly 80% share.
Direct competitors include AgiBot, UBTech, DEEP Robotics and Leju Robotics in China. Global comparisons include Boston Dynamics, Tesla Optimus, Figure AI and 1X. Compared with Boston Dynamics, Unitree has emphasized lower-cost, commercially available quadruped and humanoid platforms for education, research, developers and early enterprise use. Compared with Tesla Optimus and Figure AI, Unitree has disclosed larger near-term shipment scale, while Tesla and Figure remain important potential competitors because of their software, manufacturing and capital resources.
Unitree’s market position is strong but still early-stage. Its robots are widely visible in research, education, demonstrations, public events and pilot industrial applications, while broad commercial deployment of general-purpose humanoids remains unproven. The company’s latest disclosures also show the trade-off in its strategy: revenue is still growing quickly, but Q1 2026 adjusted profit fell as spending increased and competition intensified.