HONG KONG — The robotics firm behind China’s famously backflipping humanoids leapt to a remarkable stock market debut on Wednesday, with Unitree’s shares closing up 460% as investors rally behind homegrown beneficiaries of the A.I. boom.
\n\nChinese humanoid and other robots have advanced at a breathtaking pace as Beijing competes for global tech dominance with Washington, which banned imports of new foreign-made robots last month over national security concerns. Unitree, the first humanoid robotics maker to go public on a mainland Chinese exchange, has won global attention with its humanoid and quadruped robots that can run, dance, and do backflips and kung fu.
\n\nOn Monday, the Hangzhou-based company unveiled its new “Superman” robot, which it says can jump more than 6.5 feet high and has a top speed of more than 28 miles per hour — faster than men’s 100-meter world record holder Usain Bolt.
\n\nUnitree’s stock, which was initially priced at 150.8 yuan ($22) a share, closed Wednesday at 845 yuan ($125.40) on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market, valuing the company at about $50 billion. Earlier, it went as high as 1,100 yuan ($163.23), or 629%.
\n\nThe debut leaves Unitree CEO Wang Xingxing, who owns about a fifth of the…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health