Unitree Shifts PR Strategy to Superhuman Feats Ahead of IPO
On August 17, Unitree released a 30-second video showing a humanoid robot with 0.85-meter legs jumping 2 meters in place, while another robot ran at 12.66 meters per second. Unitree claimed both feats surpass all human records. The video was posted just two trading days before the company's listing on the STAR Market, where it debuted on August 19 at an issue price of 150.80 yuan per share, corresponding to a market value of about 61 billion yuan.\n\nOver the past year, Unitree's communication strategy has shifted from emphasizing human-like actions to superhuman performance. Early campaigns focused on robots mimicking human movements, such as the quadruped robot 'Benben' performing at the 2021 Spring Festival Gala, a robot dog appearing at the 2023 Super Bowl, and the B2-W sprinting on a gravel slope in December 2024. In January 2025, 16 H1 robots danced the Yangge at the Spring Festival Gala, and at the 2026 gala, over 20 G1 and H2 robots performed high-speed formations and flips.\n\nThis approach helped Unitree build nationwide recognition at a relatively low cost. According to its prospectus, the company spent 22.57 million yuan on advertising in the first three quarters of 2025. The turning point came in August 2025, when Unitree won four gold medals at the first World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing, including the 1500m, 400m, 100m hurdles, and 4x100m relay, with a top speed of 4.78 m/s. Since then, the company has entered a phase of dense record-breaking.\n\nIn March 2026, founder Wang Xingxing publicly stated that robot running speed would exceed that of Usain Bolt within the year. On April 11, the H1 ran 10 m/s, and on August 17, it improved to 12.66 m/s, while also adding a 2-meter standing jump. The communication scene has shifted from stage performances to sports arenas. Superhuman record-breaking events are easier to spread than human-like performances because they lower the barrier to understanding. Speed and jump height are intuitive measures learned in elementary school, requiring no industry background. A single line of caption can convey the achievement to the general public.
The 30-second video shows Wang Xingxing standing nearby watching the robot jump, with specific parameters released via official Weibo, Bilibili, and WeChat Video, followed by media coverage. The content is direct, the channels clear, and the communication threshold is minimized.\n\nIn contrast, many embodied intelligence companies focused on factory scenarios tend to use videos of robotic arms repeating motions, where outsiders cannot easily discern the difficulty or differentiate from competitors. To explain advantages, they rely on industry jargon like yield rate, takt time, and changeover time, which are hard for the public to grasp. If a message cannot be explained in one sentence, its spread is limited.\n\nUnitree's communication rhythm follows a pattern of setting goals, delivering on promises, and setting new goals. In March, Wang announced surpassing Bolt's speed; by April, the H1 reached 10 m/s; in August, it hit 12.66 m/s. Each record validates the previous commitment and creates anticipation for the next, maintaining sustained public interest. This rhythm aligns with the IPO timeline: the public statement in March came after the listing application was accepted; the April record occurred during the inquiry period; the August video was released just one trading day before listing. Additionally, Unitree's claimed capability of building a new robot in three months provides product-level support for continuous records.\n\nFor companies focused on production-line scenarios, Unitree's approach offers a reference: when showcasing capabilities, use intuitive comparisons between robots and human workers to lower the audience's understanding threshold, allowing more people to directly perceive the product's practical value. More highlights can be found on TMTPost's WeChat and app.