Yushu TechnologyUnitree's IPO was oversubscribed 8,000 times, indicating strong investor demand and successful market debut.

China's humanoid robot makers are facing a tougher test in proving their inventions can work reliably to generate economic value at the World Robot Conference in Beijing this week. More than 300 companies are expected at the event from Wednesday through Sunday, showcasing over 2,000 exhibits and launching more than 150 products, according to Beijing authorities. The conference coincides with the Shanghai stock market debut of Unitree, one of the world's largest humanoid robot makers by sales volume, after an initial public offering that was more than 8,000 times oversubscribed by retail investors. Investors and customers are increasingly judging robots not by how spectacularly they move, but by how productively they work, how much human supervision they require and whether they can earn a return on their cost. Guotai Securities estimates an industrial humanoid would need to cost about 160,000 yuan, including maintenance, to pay for itself within two years compared with a worker earning 80,000 yuan annually, while such robots typically cost 300,000 to 500,000 yuan according to Berlin-based think tank MERICS.
Yushu TechnologyUnitree's IPO was oversubscribed 8,000 times, indicating strong investor demand and successful market debut.