Valuation Skyrockets 1,270x in 9 Years! Dissecting the Capital Game Behind Unitree Robotics

What are the key drivers behind the skyrocketing valuation of AI · Yushu Technology?

“Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” March 22 (Reporter Ao Jin) — On Friday, March 20, Yushu Technology, founded by Wang Xingxing, disclosed its IPO materials. Many rumors circulating in the market about Yushu Technology’s financing have been either confirmed or refuted in these detailed documents, revealing the complete funding path of this high-profile star project.

As a project established before the boom of embodied intelligence, Yushu’s financing journey has not been smooth sailing. Over the past 10 years since its founding, it has experienced bold bets from angel investors, a long period of dormancy, and a surge in market attention after its popularity increased.

Notably, the valuation basis and the method of equity pricing during Yushu Technology’s equity changes also attracted attention in this pre-IPO inquiry from the Science and Technology Innovation Board.

Angel Investor Yin Fangming

Among Yushu Technology’s impressive shareholder group, there is an unassuming entity: Tianjin Junwan Hongyi Enterprise Management Consulting Partnership (Limited Partnership) (hereafter “Junwan Hongyi”), which currently holds about 3.07% of Yushu’s shares.

Junwan Hongyi first appeared on Yushu’s shareholder list in August 2020, with all its shares coming from a transfer by an individual investor, who is also Yushu’s angel investor, Yin Fangming.

According to previous media reports, Yin Fangming is also an entrepreneur. Before founding the intelligent robot company Roobo in 2014, he worked at MediaTek, Qihoo 360, and Sogou. In 2016, Yin Fangming made a decisive bet on Wang Xingxing: investing 2 million yuan at a valuation of 10 million yuan.

As Yushu’s shareholders increased their holdings over the years, Junwan Hongyi’s stake was continuously diluted, from an initial 9.11% down to about 4.4% as of May 2025. At that time, Junwan Hongyi also transferred some old shares to Jiaxing Ruili for 58 million yuan.

According to the IPO prospectus, this was the only time Junwan Hongyi sold its Yushu shares.

However, as a platform holding Yushu’s shares, Junwan Hongyi’s partner list has changed over the years, with some investors indirectly holding shares through stakes in Junwan Hongyi.

The “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” noted from business registration changes that, in May 2025, Suzhou Diancheng Technology Partnership (Limited Partnership), which is largely owned by AVIC Trust, was added as a partner of Junwan Hongyi. But just four months later, Suzhou Diancheng exited the partnership, and at the same time, Suzhou Yizhili Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), managed by Feng Yi Yuanda, was added as a partner. Currently, the fund managed by Feng Yi Yuanda holds the largest share of Junwan Hongyi, at 29.23%.

In July 2025, IDG’s Harmony Venture Capital Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (Yixing) also joined Junwan Hongyi’s partner list. Business registration info shows that this fund managed by IDG currently owns 15.35% of Junwan Hongyi.

These changes indicate that Yin Fangming, as Yushu’s angel investor, has not only witnessed the company’s valuation jump from tens of millions to hundreds of billions but also became one of the earliest shareholders to realize partial investment gains. According to business registration info, Yin Fangming still holds about 16.62% of Junwan Hongyi, continuing to share in the benefits as Yushu enters the public market.

A Long Dormant Period

Looking at the financing history, Yushu Technology’s path differs from some recent humanoid robot projects. The company did not experience intense market enthusiasm early on; instead, capital remained relatively calm for a long period.

Several industry insiders told “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” that during early funding stages, founder Wang Xingxing even faced skepticism from investors. Multiple sources confirmed this in subsequent interviews.

The disclosed financing details also support this cold period. Until 2022, Yushu’s investor structure was mainly composed of small and medium-sized institutions and industry background funds, with limited participation from top-tier VCs, notably Sequoia China.

Sequoia China first entered Yushu’s shareholder list in December 2019, investing 15 million yuan through its Ningbo Sequoia Fund, acquiring 10% of Yushu at that time. Based on this, Yushu’s post-investment valuation was about 150 million yuan.

Over the next three years, Yushu continued to attract early-stage funds, including Chuangxin Capital, Xiangfeng Investment, Matrix Partners China, Shenzhen Capital Group, and China Internet Investment Fund. With the entry of several well-known investment institutions, the company’s attention in the primary market increased.

In terms of valuation, Yushu did not see rapid jumps during this period but showed a relatively steady upward trend. After the participation of China Internet, the valuation gradually rose and stabilized around 1.12 billion yuan.

In 2023, Yushu did not have new external financing or clear market-based pricing, and its valuation remained within the existing range for a long time. This “price stagnation” was quickly broken in early 2024.

In January 2024, Yushu’s equity structure first changed within the Matrix ecosystem. According to the IPO documents, Gan Er No. 2 transferred part of its shares to Matrix No. 1 and Matrix No. 3. Based on the transaction price, this transfer implied a valuation of about 1 billion yuan.

It’s worth noting that this transaction occurred within the same management system, representing an internal fund transfer, and the pricing was not fully market-driven, more akin to a reference price within the system.

However, just 15 days later, on January 31, 2024, Yushu completed a new round of external financing, bringing in shareholders such as Meituan Longzhu, CITIC-backed funds, Shenzhen Capital Group, Source Code Capital, and Rongteng Investment. The post-investment valuation surged to about 3.1 billion yuan.

This valuation leap partly reflects increased attention to the humanoid robot sector since late 2023. As embodied intelligence became a new narrative focus, combined with rising valuations of overseas related companies, the market’s reference for robot project valuations shifted rapidly.

Precise Positioning Before the Valuation Surge

After crossing the valuation threshold, Yushu’s equity transaction pace accelerated significantly. In retrospect, this period was the last window for primary market funds to participate in the company’s growth at relatively low costs.

Throughout 2024, although Yushu’s valuation exceeded 3 billion yuan, it mostly fluctuated between about 3 billion and 4 billion yuan. Multiple equity transfers and capital increases occurred around this level, with no further significant upward movement.

Specifically, according to IPO documents, in mid-2024, Shanghai STAR Market and existing shareholder Meituan Longzhu acquired some old shares, implying a valuation of about 3.3 to 3.6 billion yuan. In August of the same year, Yushu launched a new financing round, attracting investments from Beijing Robot Industry Fund, Zhongguancun Science City, and others, with a post-investment valuation of about 3.7 to 3.8 billion yuan.

In Q3 2024, G-light Venture Capital made a precise positioning move: acquiring about 1.43% of Yushu from early investor Anchu Technology for a total of 50 million yuan, corresponding to an estimated valuation of around 3.5 billion yuan.

By 2025, Yushu’s market buzz had skyrocketed, with valuation directly entering the hundreds of billions. This sharp increase drew regulatory attention.

Regulatory Inquiry on Valuation and Pricing

The “Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily” noted that in the inquiry letter regarding Yushu Technology’s initial public offering application, the Shanghai Stock Exchange asked the company to explain: the pricing methods and valuation basis for the two equity changes in 2025, and, considering the background of these changes and industry valuation benchmarks, to clarify the reasons and rationality of the rapid valuation growth before listing, and whether it meets listing conditions.

Yushu’s response indicated that the transfers of old shares finalized at prices between 5 billion and 5.8 billion yuan at the end of 2024. By the last pre-IPO financing in June 2025, the pre-money valuation had already reached 12 billion yuan.

It’s worth noting that the new shareholders at that valuation included entities such as China Mobile’s associated Shanghai China Mobile Digital Transformation Industry Private Equity Fund, Chuangchuang Investment, as well as Tencent, Alibaba’s investment platforms, and ByteDance-related Jin Qiu Fund.

After this round, Yushu’s post-investment valuation reached 12.7 billion yuan, representing a 1,270-fold increase from the angel round valuation of 10 million nine years earlier.

It’s also noteworthy that while Yushu’s valuation soared and drew regulatory inquiries, the humanoid robot sector’s valuations were rising even faster. Unlike Yushu’s gradual accumulation over years to reach hundreds of billions, many humanoid robot projects reportedly achieved valuation jumps from single digits to hundreds of billions within a year, according to interviews.