Today, Unitree Technology officially passed the hearing for listing on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board (STAR Market), intending to raise 4.202 billion yuan for purposes such as the development of intelligent robot models and robot bodies. This signifies that this leading company among the 'Hangzhou Six Dragons' will formally become the 'first listed company in the humanoid robotics sector'.
Prior to this, Unitree Technology's founder Wang Xingxing had experienced a long period of dormancy. It wasn't until 2022, when Unitree's robotic dogs found commercial applications in areas like inspection and logistics, demonstrating practical value, that they gained market recognition, breaking the external stereotype that their robot products were 'merely for display or entertainment'.
It was a decade of dedication. Looking back now, what sustained Wang Xingxing and Unitree was nothing more than a pure love for 'mechanical creation', and the timely and generous support from Hangzhou's state-owned capital at Unitree's 'most critical' moment—a truly timely aid.
It is this steadfast original intention that has fueled the powerful rise of the 'Hangzhou Six Dragons', represented by Unitree Technology, and has also transformed Hangzhou from a 'historical city' into a 'city of technological innovation' that countless entrepreneurs aspire to.
"The Most Critical" Moment
The First Lifeline from Hangzhou State-Owned Capital
Looking back to 2016, without the aura of a prestigious university or the resume of a senior executive from a major corporation, the start for Unitree and Wang Xingxing was extremely 'modest'.
Wang Xingxing, who has been fascinated with taking apart machinery since childhood and deeply involved in structural design, came to Hangzhou alone in that year. He founded Unitree Technology from scratch in a small 50-square-meter office in Binjiang District, Hangzhou. However, at the outset of his venture, the robotics sector Wang Xingxing was in was not favored by the market. Unitree was even labeled a 'toy' at one point; in the eyes of most investors, this sector lacked industrial landing space and had no 'practical commercial value'.
At the same time, there was a prevailing 'short-term' sentiment in the venture capital circle back then. Compared to the uncertainties of robotics technology, unclear market acceptance, and intense industry competition, investors were more 'inclined' towards fields like big data, cloud computing, vertical e-commerce platforms, and live-streaming platforms, which promised faster results and higher popularity.
Under such market 'circumstances', Unitree Technology and Wang Xingxing once found themselves in an awkward position where fundraising was difficult and their project was not seen as promising. During the most difficult period, the company's account balance dwindled to just over 100,000 yuan. Wang Xingxing had to voluntarily stop drawing his own salary and even used his personal savings to barely keep the company afloat.
At this critical juncture, Hangzhou's state-owned capital stepped in. In 2018, when Wang Xingxing was facing repeated rejections with his business plan, the sci-tech finance and government guarantee platforms under Hangzhou's state-owned capital system quickly intervened, providing support through quasi-credit guarantee methods: completing due diligence in just 3 days, disbursing funds in 7 days, with a single loan amount reaching 20 million yuan.
This funding directly stabilized Unitree Technology, pulling it out of a life-or-death predicament. It was also this funding that enabled Unitree Technology to achieve the crucial leap from 'R&D prototypes' to 'mass-producible and deliverable products'. Meanwhile, the credit backing from Hangzhou's state-owned capital broke the market's wait-and-see attitude and paved the way for its subsequent multiple rounds of financing.
Data shows that after this state-owned capital was secured, Unitree Technology completely emerged from the entrepreneurial 'low point'. From the second half of 2018 onwards, the company's products entered the batch delivery stage, launching the world's first retail-level high-dynamic quadruped robot. Most importantly, leveraging the advantage of mass production, Unitree's product prices were only about one-third of those of similar products from Boston Dynamics, successfully validating its commercialization path. With batch deliveries and entry into major university laboratories worldwide, Unitree also achieved revenue of several million yuan that year.
Hangzhou Capital Takes Over the Baton
Indirectly Participated in 4 Rounds of Unitree's Financing
The subsequent story is widely known. After Unitree successfully crossed the 'valley of death', market-oriented capital followed in succession. However, the protective escort from Hangzhou's state-owned capital did not stop there; it shifted from 'emergency relief' to deeper, longer-term 'companionship'.
According to the prospectus, since 2022, the two 100-billion-yuan-level government-guided funds under Hangzhou Capital—Hangzhou Sci-Tech Innovation Fund and Hangzhou Innovation Fund—have participated in four rounds of financing for Unitree Technology through market-oriented sub-funds. Specifically, from Series B2, B3 to Series C and C+ rounds, funds from the Hangzhou state-owned capital system have been consistently present, accompanying Unitree from its small beginnings to robust growth.
In 2022, during Unitree's Series B financing, the Hangzhou Sci-Tech Innovation Fund and Hangzhou Innovation Fund invested through their participated sub-funds, corresponding to a post-investment valuation of 3.785 billion yuan. After this round, Unitree gained stronger financial support during the scale-up phase of its robot products. In the 2024 Series C financing, sub-funds of the two 100-billion-yuan mother funds continued to follow on, corresponding to a valuation range of 5 to 5.8 billion yuan. Ample capital support further helped the company increase R&D investment, expand production scale, and continuously consolidate its leading industry position.
In the 2025 Series C+ financing, Hangzhou's two 100-billion-yuan mother funds once again invested through sub-funds, fully empowering the rapid development of Unitree's humanoid robot business. It is worth mentioning that in this round, in addition to the continued support from Hangzhou's state-owned capital, it successfully attracted a group of top-tier industrial capital including China Mobile, Tencent, Alibaba, Ant Group, and Geely. After the financing, Unitree's valuation rose from a pre-investment 12 billion yuan to a post-investment 12.7 billion yuan.
Now, with Unitree Technology successfully passing the STAR Market hearing, Hangzhou's long-term 'patient capital' has finally reaped its rewards. On the evening when the news of Unitree's hearing on June 1st was released, ChinaVenture noted that many investors were expressing their approval on social media.
Empowered by Hangzhou's 'patient capital', to date, Unitree Technology has steadily maintained its position in the first tier of global legged robots, with its humanoid robot business maintaining a high-growth trajectory. Prior to the IPO, Unitree achieved revenue of 1.699 billion yuan in 2025, with adjusted net profit nearing 591 million yuan. Its annual shipment of humanoid robots ranked first globally, cumulative sales of quadruped robots exceeded 33,000 units, and its global market share led the industry.
At the same time, the company has formed a dual-wheel drive structure with quadruped and humanoid robots, achieving a revenue compound annual growth rate exceeding 226%, gross margin improved to 60.13%, becoming one of the few high-performance general-purpose robotics companies globally to achieve scaled profitability.
From 'Seedling' to 'Leader'
Hangzhou Crafts an 'Ideal' City for Entrepreneurs
From financing difficulties, to commercialization validation, to business explosion, achieving 591 million yuan in adjusted net profit... Unitree Technology's growth path has never been a single breakthrough or achievement; it is a vivid microcosm of Hangzhou's 'patient capital' accompanying hard-tech companies from 'seedlings' to 'industry leaders'.
According to the official website of Hangzhou Municipal People's Government, besides Unitree Technology, among the 'Hangzhou Six Dragons', Hangzhou Capital has also invested in and supported companies like LeapingGait Robotics, BrainCo, and DeepSeek. It can be said that Hangzhou Capital, through a series of precise layouts and professional services, is injecting vigorous developmental momentum into the rise of China's technological innovation.
To more systematically and comprehensively channel the 'living water' of capital into every link of the technological innovation ecosystem, Hangzhou has in recent years established a 500-billion-yuan '3+N' industrial fund cluster. It is reported that this cluster, with a target scale of 500 billion yuan, has formed 3 100-billion-yuan mother funds + N sub-funds, with a total scale exceeding 300 billion yuan. According to official information, the Hangzhou '3+N' industrial fund cluster aims to exceed a total scale of 500 billion yuan during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, that is, from 2026 to 2030.
Returning to the original intention of establishing this 100-billion-yuan industrial fund cluster, it was established solely to practice the investment philosophy of investing early, investing small, investing long-term, and investing in hard technology. For example, in the cutting-edge field of brain-computer interfaces, the Hangzhou Sci-Tech Innovation Fund, through its sub-fund Westlake Innovation Fund, provided BrainCo with its first early-stage funding as early as 2022. The Westlake Innovation Fund specializes in investments for transforming scientific and technological achievements. In August 2024, another 100-billion-yuan mother fund—Hangzhou Innovation Fund—also directly invested through a special sub-fund, helping BrainCo deepen its efforts in the integrated application of brain-computer interfaces and AI algorithms and expand its business boundaries.
News indicates that BrainCo filed a confidential application for a Hong Kong IPO in January of this year.
Furthermore, although DeepSeek did not raise funds in its early stages, Huijin International, under Hangzhou Capital, still adhered to a company-centric service philosophy, continuously optimizing service content and quality, providing DeepSeek with high-quality park supporting services for its growth and expansion.
Supported by Hangzhou's '3+N' industrial fund cluster, Hangzhou has also specifically established the Runmiao Fund to improve early-stage investment layout. ChinaVenture learned that the Runmiao Fund has a term of up to 20 years, specifically investing in early-stage projects before Series A, precisely filling the financing gap in the 'first kilometer' for startups.
Beyond capital empowerment, the city's appeal is becoming increasingly evident. In 2025, Hangzhou attracted approximately 430,000 university graduates under 35 to work and start businesses here. Throughout the entire 14th Five-Year Plan period, Hangzhou cumulatively achieved over 2 million young people settling in the city. The continuous influx of talent has made the ecosystem for hard-tech entrepreneurship in Hangzhou even more fertile, further consolidating the dual-wheel drive model of 'capital + talent' formed by Hangzhou's 100-billion-yuan fund cluster.
Currently, with the 'Hangzhou Six Dragons' as benchmarks, Hangzhou has already seen the emergence of 48 unicorn companies and 413 potential unicorn companies. The number of related enterprises accounts for over 80% of Zhejiang province, gradually building a complete industrial chain encompassing AI large models, humanoid robots, quadruped robots, brain-computer interfaces, integrated circuits, aerospace intelligence, and more.
It can be foreseen that in the context of this year being a major IPO year for Hangzhou's local enterprises, more 'Unitree Technology-style' innovation stories will be staged in Hangzhou in the future. Here will ultimately become the 'ideal city' in the hearts of entrepreneurs.
