- Unitree’s production surge highlights the shift from humanoid robot demos to mass manufacturing
- Chinese manufacturers captured 97% of global humanoid robot shipments in the first half of 2026
Unitree (宇树科技) said on August 12 that cumulative production of its bipedal humanoid robots has reached approximately 18,000 units, excluding other humanoid configurations and wheeled platforms.
The figure has risen sharply from 11,000 units just three months earlier, indicating that the company is rapidly scaling production as humanoid robots move closer to mass-market deployment.
Unitree shipped more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, ranking first globally. But the competitive landscape shifted in the first half of 2026.
Unitree shipped about 5,900 units, giving it a 31% global market share, while fellow Chinese company AgiBot (智元机器人) shipped 8,400 units and captured 44%, overtaking Unitree for the top spot.
Together, the two Chinese companies accounted for nearly three-quarters of global humanoid robot shipments.
Chinese manufacturers as a whole captured more than 97% of global humanoid robot shipments in the first half, sharply outpacing U.S. players such as Tesla and Figure AI.
Factory-scale production
The numbers point to a broader shift in the industry. Humanoid robotics is moving beyond the stage of impressive demonstrations and laboratory prototypes toward factory-scale production, with manufacturing capacity becoming an increasingly important competitive advantage.
The market is also becoming more price-sensitive. Unitree’s G1 humanoid robot starts at around 29,900 yuan ($4,433), making the technology increasingly accessible to universities, research institutions and smaller companies for bulk deployment.
Unitree has also secured registration for its STAR Market IPO, becoming the first humanoid robot company to list on China’s A-share market.
Its IPO was priced at 150.8 yuan per share, implying a post-listing market capitalization of about 61 billion yuan, with approximately 6.1 billion yuan in proceeds.
Why it matters globally
For the global robotics industry, the significance of Unitree’s production figures extends beyond one company.
Global humanoid robot shipments reached about 19,100 units in the first half of 2026, more than triple the level a year earlier, with Chinese manufacturers accounting for the overwhelming majority.
The competitive question is therefore changing. The industry is moving from who can build a humanoid robot to who can build them cheaply, reliably and at scale.
China’s supply-chain advantages are giving its manufacturers a strong lead in that race, and Unitree’s rapidly expanding production base is one of the clearest signs that humanoid robotics is approaching its mass-manufacturing inflection point.
