Unitree Founder Sees Humanoid Robot Breakthrough 5-10 Years Away as Stock Swings After 460% Debut
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Aug 20
Unitree Founder Sees Humanoid Robot Breakthrough 5-10 Years Away as Stock Swings After 460% Debut
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Aug 20
Summary
Wang Xingxing said humanoid robots are still 5-10 years from a true "ChatGPT moment"—or 2-3 years in a faster scenario—defined as handling about 80% of tasks in an unfamiliar home from text or voice commands.
Unitree's founder said the industry's main bottleneck is generalization: robots still need retraining for each new task and can plan broad motions but often fail in the final centimeters or millimeters.
Unitree shares fell nearly 19% to 687 yuan on Thursday, a day after the Shanghai-listed stock closed 460% above its 150.80 yuan IPO price in a $905 million offering.
The caution contrasted with Wang's less-than-five-year forecast last year and highlighted the gap between investor excitement and current commercial limits in humanoid robotics.
Morgan Stanley said global humanoid shipments reached about 19,000 units in the first half of 2026, up 272% year on year, with Chinese makers accounting for 97% of sales.