
Unitree founder maps out embodied AI push after IPO pricing
Unitree plans to explore a wider range of robot products, including humanoid robots, quadruped robots, mechs and other robotic platforms.

Unitree plans to explore a wider range of robot products, including humanoid robots, quadruped robots, mechs and other robotic platforms.

“The remaining challenges are no longer fundamental scientific problems, but engineering ones,” Wang said, adding that the scale of engineering work required remains unprecedented.

Based on the proposed fundraising and offering structure, the IPO implies a minimum post-listing valuation of about 42 billion yuan for Unitree.

Wang opened up for the first time on the thinking behind GD01, which the company describes as the world’s first mass-produced, rideable mech robot.

Named GD01, the transformable robot can carry a human operator and switch between upright humanoid form and a four-legged mode designed for rough terrain.

The result on April 11 places the robot close to the top recorded human sprint speed of legendary Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

Wang also said several robotic entrants are expected to complete a half marathon in under one hour at an upcoming competition in Beijing — a pace faster than most human athletes.

Unitree’s early years coincided with a difficult fundraising environment for bionic robotics. Shunwei was one of the first prominent VCs to back the startup.

He favors world-model approaches over Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models, arguing they can leverage vast online data for higher performance.