Asianfin--Unitree Robotics, a leading Chinese startup specializing in quadruped and humanoid robots, has raised several billion yuan in Series C funding.

The round was led by Beijing Robotics Industry Investment Fund, with participants including Meituan Longzhu, Zhongguancun Science City, Amber Capital, Shanghai Sci-Tech Innovation Fund, Sequoia Capital China and CITIC Securities.

This marks Meituan's second investment in Unitree Robotics. Earlier this year, Meituan, under the leadership of CEO Wang Xing, participated in Unitree's B2 round, when a total of 1 billion yuan was raised. Currently, Meituan's subsidiary, Hanhai Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., holds an 8% stake in Unitree, making it the largest external shareholder.

Zhongguancun Science City has confirmed its participation in the investment, while Unitree Robotics declined to comment. According to IT Juzi, a business data platform, Unitree's post-investment valuation stands at 8 billion yuan, elevating it to 'unicorn' status—a designation for startups valued at over $1 billion.

Founded in August 2016 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Unitree Robotics is a rising star in the consumer-grade high-performance quadruped robot sector. The company is among the first globally to commercialize quadruped robots and is often compared to U.S.-based Figure AI, a humanoid robot startup backed by OpenAI, Microsoft, and Amazon, currently valued at around $2 billion.

Wang Xingxing, the founder and CEO of Unitree, holds a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Shanghai University and briefly worked at DJI. Since its inception, Unitree has developed a series of high-mobility quadruped robots, including Laikago, AlienGo, and the educational Unitree A1. In June 2021, the company launched the high-performance bionic companion robot Unitree Go1, priced at just $2,700 (approximately 16,000 yuan), aiming to make it accessible to ordinary households.

Amidst the GPT-driven AI boom and technological advancements in humanoid robots, Unitree Robotics ventured into the humanoid robot market in 2023. Last August, the company unveiled the 1.8-meter humanoid robot H1, capable of performing backflips and walking at speeds of up to 3.3 meters per second. This May, Unitree introduced the 'humanoid intelligent body' G1, featuring robust AI capabilities and a base price of just 99,000 yuan.

Currently, the production cost of humanoid robots ranges from RMB 200,000 to 400,000, making the G’s price high, with real-world applications falling short of the impressive demonstrations seen in promotional videos.

An industry insider told Asianfin that while Unitree Robotics is attempting to use "AI large models to drive robots," this approach might face challenges in achieving large-scale production over the long term.

Wang has previously said that the G1's sales are meeting expectations, with applications in research, education, and industrial settings. Unitree Robotics is now one of the few companies in China capable of mass-producing humanoid robots. However, Wang also emphasized that humanoid robots currently lack the general models seen in AI systems like ChatGPT, which presents a significant barrier to their broader commercial use. He believes the true commercial breakthrough for humanoid robots may still be 3-4 years away.

At present, research and education institutions are key buyers of Unitree's humanoid robots. Notable clients include Westlake University, Tsinghua University, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Ningbo University, and Ningbo University of Technology. Additionally, iFlytek's humanoid robot body is supported by Unitree Robotics.

While Unitree Robotics is entering the mass production phase, several competitors are also advancing. Kuavo Robotics is in full production and has commercial applications in research and special operations, with its first batch of orders being delivered. UBTech’s industrial humanoid robots have secured over 500 orders from automakers, with small-scale production and delivery expected by the end of this year. Xpeng Robotics anticipates delivering 300 units by 2024, and Stardust Robotics plans to complete commercialization within 2024.

As China’s largest tech consumer company, Meituan has been actively investing in humanoid robots. In June, Meituan led a RMB 700 million angel round for Beijing Galaxy Robotics and is now the company's largest external shareholder. The two companies have also collaborated on projects like unmanned pharmacies. Meituan has previously invested in AI unicorn Zhipu AI and autonomous delivery vehicle company Neolithic.

However, in addition to domestic progress, the race against international players like Tesla's Optimus and Figure AI is heating up. As 2024 approaches, the time window for small-scale mass production of humanoid robots in China is narrowing, and the public has yet to see Chinese humanoid robots generate significant productivity gains. As Boston Dynamics' founder Marc Raibert put it, humanoid robots are more of a spectacle than a source of productivity at this stage.

According to Statista, the global AI robot market is expected to exceed US$ 19 billion in 2024, a nearly 30% increase from 2023. By 2030, the market is projected to grow beyond US$ 35 billion.