Unitree revealed a humanoid robot called Superman on Monday, claiming it can run 12.66 meters per second — faster than Usain Bolt's top recorded speed of 12.42 m/s during his 2009 world record run. The reveal lands days before the company's shares start trading on Shanghai's STAR Market, following an IPO that raised about 6.1 billion yuan (~$905 million) and valued the firm near $9 billion.
A machine built to outrun a human
Superman's claimed sprint speed isn't the only jaw-dropper. The robot clears a 2-meter standing high jump on legs that measure just 0.85 meters. Unitree says engineers built the machine in a little over three months, though the company has released no independent verification of the speed figure.
Founder Wang Xingxing predicted back in March that humanoid machines would break human sprint limits by mid-year. The Superman reveal lands right on that timeline. Whether the robot actually hits 12.66 m/s in controlled conditions remains an open question — but the marketing timing couldn't be tighter.
An IPO that broke records
Unitree priced its shares at 150.8 yuan and raised about 6.1 billion yuan, a 45% overshoot of the 4.2 billion yuan it originally sought. Retail buyers covered their tranche 8,288 times over, setting a demand record on Shanghai's STAR Market. The deal values Unitree at roughly 36 times its 2025 sales, double the 18 times multiple Hong Kong-listed rival UBTech commands.
Investors are paying above 100 times earnings for a company that posted 591 million yuan in net profit last year. The appetite echoes another recent STAR Market debut: Chinese memory maker CXMT's chip listing climbed 466% in a single session on the same board. That kind of froth has some traders bracing for a volatile first day of trading.
The sales behind the hype
Unitree's revenue reached 1.7 billion yuan last year, more than four times the 2024 figure. The company shipped more than 5,500 humanoid units in 2025 across its G1, H1, and R1 lines. But most of those units went to research labs and entertainment buyers, not factory floors — a detail that matters for anyone expecting an industrial robot revolution.
The robotics sector is drawing serious money elsewhere too. Tether led a $1.4 billion round for NEURA Robotics in June, and NVIDIA struck robotics deals with LG and Doosan the same month. Elon Musk continues to pour billions into a record-sized chip factory. Unitree's IPO proceeds are earmarked for embodied AI, new robot bodies, and expanded factory capacity.
Superman's speed claim is still unverified. Unitree's shares begin trading in Shanghai this week, and the market will deliver its verdict on a company already priced at more than 100 times earnings.
