China’s top humanoid robot start-up Unitree Robotics has converted into a company limited by shares, a move that has fanned speculation around its public listing plans, as Chinese robotics firms rapidly expand amid the country’s fervour for the artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled machines.
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Unitree has changed from a limited liability company into a joint stock limited company, an equivalent to a company limited by shares, according to records on Chinese corporate database Qichacha published on Thursday.
In a letter to business partners, the company said the move was “due to company development needs”, according to a report by the state-run Chinese news outlet Securities Times.
A joint stock limited structure lets a company issue and transfer shares, allowing it to raise more capital as it scales up its operations. Chinese media outlets have called Unitree’s restructuring a move that paved the way for its initial public offering.
Hangzhou-based Unitree did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During Hong Kong chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s visit to Hangzhou in April, Unitree founder and CEO Wang Xingxing reportedly told him that a listing in Hong Kong was a possibility.
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Unitree is considered one of China’s most advanced robot manufacturers. Its main commercial products include a US$16,000 humanoid robot named G1, and robot dogs, with the latter helping the company achieve profitability in 2020, marketing director Huang Jiawei told the Post in March.