Inside Unitree's Vertical Integration Strategy
Unitree’s prospectus shows how in-house motors, reducers, sensors and controls support scaled robot manufacturing.
The Vertical Integration Bet
In recent public remarks, Unitree's leadership has been unusually explicit about the company's manufacturing philosophy.
Speaking at the Yabuli Forum Innovation Annual Meeting in July 2026, co-founder Chen Li said Unitree has developed its own motors, reducers, encoders, sensors, robot control systems, perception, navigation and AI algorithms internally since the company's founding in 2013. Most notably, he said the company's joint-motor supply chain now extends little beyond upstream raw materials such as copper wire and magnets.
Those remarks reinforced comments made earlier in the year by Jiang Chengyi, Unitree's Head of Robotics Solutions, during Automation World 2026 in Seoul.
Jiang said Unitree now develops more than 90% of its hardware internally, including motors, reducers, encoders, sensors and 3D vision modules. According to Jiang, that approach provides tighter quality control, lower manufacturing costs and better optimisation for mass production.
Many robotics manufacturers rely on specialist suppliers for motors, reducers and other motion components to reduce development costs and accelerate time to market. Unitree has chosen a different path: own the motor stack, control the iteration cycle and scale production in-house.
The Humanoid Shift
Between 2022 and September 2025, Unitree sold more than 30,000 quadruped robots. By most measures, that represents one of the most successful commercial quadruped platforms in the industry.
Unitree also estimates it holds around 70% of the global quadruped robot market by shipment volume, providing the manufacturing base from which it is now expanding its humanoid business.
During the first nine months of 2025, Unitree reported:
21,122 quadrupeds produced
17,946 quadrupeds sold
3,701 humanoids produced
3,551 humanoids sold
According to the company's STAR Market prospectus, more than 5,500 pure humanoids were shipped during 2025, excluding wheeled dual-arm robots, with more than 6,500 produced.
Humanoids also became Unitree's largest revenue segment during January to September 2025, contributing 51.53% of revenue compared with 42.25% for quadrupeds. Components accounted for a further 5.76%.
Speaking publicly in February 2026, founder Wang Xingxing also reportedly set a target of approximately 10,000–20,000 humanoid shipments during 2026.
In-house manufacturing
Compared with quadrupeds, humanoids require significantly more actuators, tighter integration between hardware and control software, and more complex manufacturing. That increases the potential value of owning more of the underlying technology stack.
On 24 June 2026, the company reduced the China-market price of its R1 humanoid from ¥39,900 to ¥29,900 while opening immediate stock sales.
The price change cannot be attributed solely to vertical integration; Unitree has not disclosed the contribution of manufacturing costs, product strategy and competition to its pricing.
The Capital Behind the Strategy
Unitree's proposed STAR Market IPO, approved by the China Securities Regulatory Commission, seeks to raise approximately RMB 4.2 billion (roughly US$619 million).
According to the prospectus, proceeds would primarily fund AI model development, new robot products and intelligent manufacturing capacity.
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