Unitree Robotics IPO reportedly 8,000x oversubscribed as investors scramble for humanoid robot exposure

Retail investors in China just turned an IPO into something resembling a lottery with worse odds than most actual lotteries. Unitree Robotics, the Hangzhou-based maker of humanoid and quadruped robots, saw its initial public offering on the Shanghai STAR Market oversubscribed by as much as 8,288 times, with an online lot-winning rate of approximately 0.018%. The numbers behind the frenzy Unitree priced its shares at 150.8 yuan each, implying a valuation of roughly 61 billion yuan, or about $9 billion. The company issued around 40.45 million shares, representing 10% of its enlarged capital, to raise 6.1 billion yuan (approximately $900 million). What happened next was borderline absurd. Around 9.8 million orders poured in, totaling roughly 8.1 trillion yuan in subscription demand. That’s about $1.2 trillion worth of buy orders chasing a $900 million offering. Oversubscription estimates ranged from 5,526 times on the low end to 8,288.82 times on the high end, depending on which tranche you’re measuring. Subscriptions opened around August 10, following pricing and regulatory approval that came through in early July. The proceeds are earmarked for robot software and hardware developmen...