Unitree made a net profit of 600 million: Tear off the fig leaf

Unitree is getting ready to go public, with a valuation of 42 billion yuan and a net profit of 600 million yuan.

Many people say: "This is a victory for AI."

I say: "This is the end of 'PPT companies' and the end of money - burning companies."

Because in Unitree's prospectus, there is a chilling secret: it sells robots for 168,000 yuan and still makes a net profit of 600 million yuan. While many other companies are still losing money even when selling products for 1 million yuan.

It's like this: You're selling pancakes on the street. One stall sells for 100 yuan and still loses money. Next - door Uncle Wang sells for 16.8 yuan and makes 600 million yuan in a year, with sales volume increasing by over 670%. Are you panicked?

Unitree gives us an inspiration: Does hard - tech entrepreneurship necessarily require a large amount of money? Not necessarily.

- 01 - Is money - burning an excuse or the truth?

Many companies that haven't made a profit for years claim that "the R & D costs are too high, there's no way around it."

Many people may also think: Unitree must have burned a lot of money on R & D, right? After all, it's about humanoid robots.

Actually, it's not.

Look at its R & D expense ratio: It has dropped from 24.39% to 7.73%, much lower than many technology companies.

For example, self - driving car companies may have an R & D expense ratio of up to 140%; chip companies can reach 93%; and large AI model companies can reach 58%.

Why is Unitree's ratio low? Because compared with the above - mentioned companies, it has high revenues.

Many AI companies' money - burning is a bit like the PPT logic: First, burn money on algorithms, then raise funds by telling stories, and finally think about how to make money. This model worked in the era of loose capital. The bigger the story, the higher the valuation.

Why doesn't Unitree burn money? Its logic is: First, build the product, then sell it, then make money, and then upgrade other aspects. It doesn't exchange money with stories but with products.

Among all humanoid robot companies, Unitree's financing should be relatively small. It was founded in 2016, and in the following five years, the largest single - round financing was only 10 million US dollars. After humanoid robots became popular, it only had three rounds of financing, with a maximum of 700 million yuan per round.

These figures are simply insignificant compared with companies that can raise 1 billion yuan per round these days. And yet, Unitree is the most profitable one.

What does this indicate? It indicates that when the industry is booming, Unitree may not be short of money. In 2023, it only had a net loss of 18 million yuan. In 2024, it made a net profit of 77.5 million yuan, and last year it made 600 million yuan.

So the lesson from this case is: "Having to burn a large amount of money" is an excuse for hard - tech entrepreneurship.

- 02 - Starting early is because of early belief

How to avoid burning a large amount of money? There is a major prerequisite. You need to start early so that there is less competition and many things can be done slowly.

Unitree Technology started early (founded in 2016), so it has the first - mover advantage and can take enough time to do the dirty and tiring work thoroughly - self - developing motors, self - developing reducers, and self - developing sensors, one by one.

If you start late, you have to burn money. Why? You happen to encounter the most intense competition. Everyone's starting points are similar, and no one has core competitiveness, so you can only burn money to buy time and compete with capital.

So for these companies, they have no choice but to burn money.

How can you start early? You need to have enough faith. You need to believe that this can be done when others are skeptical.

Let me put it bluntly. Who gave most of the confidence to the domestic humanoid robot industry? Elon Musk. Because Musk did it, people believe that this can be done.

How did many domestic humanoid robot companies emerge? In 2021, Musk announced the concept of Optimus (Tesla's humanoid robot) at Tesla AI Day.

Then, within two to three years, dozens of companies suddenly emerged in China. Investors flocked in, and entrepreneurs jumped into the fray. Everyone talked about "China's Tesla" and started to develop "general - purpose humanoid robots."

Ask yourself: How many domestic robot unicorns and investors only believed that this industry could succeed after seeing Musk do it? If so, of course, you started late and of course, you need to burn money.

The reason is simple: If you can see it, others can see it too.

Unitree Technology is different. Its belief didn't come from Musk.

Founder Wang Xingxing started making robots because in his freshman year in 2009, he "built" a bipedal robot with 200 yuan. At that time, Musk hadn't started building rockets yet, let alone thought about humanoid robots.

Unitree's belief is "I've believed in robots from day one." Its starting point is interest, and its end - point is the product. So it is willing to do the least "sexy" things - since 2016, it has sold quadruped robots to schools and laboratories; it manufactures core components by itself, including motors, reducers, and sensors; it also provides after - sales service and training for customers.

So, when others are waiting for the trend, he is already tightening screws. When others start to pursue the trend, he already has products. When the trend passes and the tide recedes, he is already making money.

Starting early is not luck. Starting early is the reward for faith.

In entrepreneurship, one should choose the industry one believes in and loves the most. Otherwise, following the crowd, the driving force will eventually be weaker than the frictional force of reality, and the usual outcome is failure.

- 03 - The anchor point has emerged. It's time to hand in the paper.

Now, Unitree is going public. What does it mean?

It means that the capital market has an "anchor point" - an anchor point that can be used for comparison and to question everyone.

In the past five years, the embodied intelligence industry has raised over 50 billion yuan in financing, but only a few companies have actually made shipments, and even fewer have made a profit.

Everyone is telling stories, and no one knows who is swimming naked. Now we know.

Unitree has sentenced all "PPT companies" with a set of figures: In 2025, it shipped 5,500 units, with a production - sales ratio of over 95%. The average price of humanoid robots dropped from 590,000 yuan to 168,000 yuan, but the gross profit margin increased to 63%.

What does this mean? It means that Unitree has found the "code" to make money, while most of its peers are still struggling in the quagmire of "losing money."

After Unitree goes public, investors will ask all robot companies three questions:

What is your shipment volume? What is your gross profit margin? What is your repurchase rate?

If you can't answer these questions, you won't get the next round of financing.

In the past five years, the robot industry has been more like a "PPT competition" - the company with a good - looking team and a good story can get the money. In the next five years, it will be a "delivery competition" - the company that can build products, sell them, burn less money, and make a profit will survive.

The PPT is over. It's time to hand in the paper.

This article does not constitute any investment advice.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Pencil News" (ID: pencilnews), written by "Honest One", and published by 36Kr with authorization.