Behind Unitree's IPO, the biggest winner in the background emerges.

On June 1st, it's not just children who are celebrating festivals. Xingxing Wang of Unitree Technology is also experiencing a double - whammy in life. An announcement from the Shanghai Stock Exchange has set the entire hard - tech circle ablaze. Unitree Technology passed the review in a "lightning - fast" 73 days and is about to become the "first stock of humanoid robots" on the A - share market. Moreover, Jensen Huang of NVIDIA publicly announced cooperation with Unitree, which has given Unitree an extra boost.

However, while onlookers are watching the robots dance, those who are truly reaping the benefits are crunching the numbers.

Who is the biggest winner in this feast?

The answer might surprise you: it's not Sequoia China, led by investment guru Neil Shen, nor Shunwei Capital, founded by Lei Jun. Instead, it's Meituan, the app you use to order takeout every day.

A robot empire valued at 42 billion yuan in 73 days

Let's first sort out the timeline:

On March 20th, Unitree Technology's IPO application was accepted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange. On April 1st, it was selected for an on - site inspection. On June 1st, it officially passed the review. It only took 73 days from acceptance to the review meeting, far faster than the average 183 - day review cycle on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, and even faster than Moore Threads, a GPU company that previously passed the review in a "lightning - fast" 88 days.

An investor sighed, "This speed is even faster than ordering a Meituan takeout."

According to the prospectus, Unitree Technology plans to raise 4.202 billion yuan in this IPO and intends to publicly issue no less than 10% of its shares. Based on this calculation, the company's overall valuation is expected to reach approximately 42 billion yuan.

In the previous round of financing in June 2025, Unitree's post - investment valuation was only 12.7 billion yuan.

In less than a year, the valuation has more than tripled. Even bank financial products would be silent in the face of this money - making efficiency.

The company's performance has also met investors' expectations. From 2023 to 2025, Unitree's revenue soared from 159 million yuan to 1.699 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of up to 226.78%; its net profit after deducting non - recurring items turned from a loss of 18.01 million yuan to a profit of approximately 590 million yuan.

Data source: Unitree Technology's prospectus (draft for the review meeting)

In 2025, the annual shipment of humanoid robots exceeded 5,500 units, with a global market share of approximately 32.4%, ranking first.

However, there are also hidden concerns behind the glory.

In the first quarter of 2026, the net profit after deducting non - recurring items decreased by 52.55% year - on - year. The prospectus explains that this is due to a significant increase in R & D and sales expenses. In simple terms, it's because they are investing heavily in developing the "brain".

Meituan's calculation: 9.65% of the shares and a return of over 4 billion yuan

As the public's attention to Unitree's IPO grows, Meituan, the behind - the - scenes shareholder, is gradually coming to light.

The prospectus shows that Meituan, through three entities, Hanhai Information (directly holding 7.61% of the shares), Chengdu Longzhu (1.02%), and Galaxy Z (1.02%), forms a concerted action group, holding a total of 9.65% of the shares. It is the largest external institutional shareholder of Unitree Technology and the second - largest shareholder group after the founder Xingxing Wang and the employee shareholding platform.

A comparison will show how significant this stake is: Sequoia China holds 7.11% of the shares, Shunwei Capital holds 4.42%, Tencent holds 0.60%, and Alibaba holds 0.45%. That is to say, Meituan's shareholding is more than the combined shareholding of the latter four.

Based on the IPO valuation of 42 billion yuan, the book value of Meituan's holdings has exceeded 4 billion yuan.

So, what was Meituan's entry cost?

According to publicly available information, Meituan entered as the lead investor in Unitree Technology's Series B2 financing in February 2024, when Unitree's valuation was only about 3.1 billion yuan.

That is to say, in less than two years, this investment has nearly multiplied by 12 times based on the IPO valuation.

12 times. What kind of fund can give you such returns?

Moreover, this is only calculated based on the issuance valuation of 42 billion yuan.

China Merchants Securities once stated in a research report that if Unitree maintains its leading position in shipments and is listed at a 3 - times PS ratio, its valuation center may be around 35 billion yuan. However, considering the scarcity premium of the humanoid robot track in the secondary market, there is still significant room for Unitree Technology's actual performance on the first day of listing to exceed expectations.

In simple terms, 4 billion yuan is just the starting line, and the real drama will unfold after the listing ceremony.

Meituan's "robot empire": 8 years, 28 unicorns, and half of the hard - tech circle

Unitree Technology is just one piece of Meituan's hard - tech investment map.

Many people don't know that Meituan has been quietly engaged in hard - tech investment for 8 years. According to statistics from "China Entrepreneur", Meituan has invested in at least 16 companies in the field of embodied intelligence, and 10 of them have grown into unicorns with valuations exceeding $1 billion.

This is not a scatter - gun approach but a heavy bet on the future.

Just look at a few names and you'll understand:

Yinhe Tongyong, currently valued at 21 billion yuan, has Meituan as its angel investor;

Xinghaitu, Zibianliang, and Sharpa, all with valuations exceeding 10 billion yuan, have Meituan as an early - stage investor in their Series A rounds;

Tashizhihang once set the largest single - round financing record in the field of embodied intelligence with $455 million, and Meituan is also a key investor.

Meituan has also been active in the field of large AI models.

Zhipu AI, the "first large - model stock" in China, has a maximum market value of over HK$320 billion; Meituan Longzhu led a financing of approximately $2 billion for Yuezhianmian, and its post - investment valuation exceeded $20 billion.

The breadth and depth of Meituan's hard - tech investment are amazing, covering almost the entire chain from computing power to applications.

Data source: Public inquiries, incomplete statistics

Data can better illustrate the point.

As of May 6th, there have been 210 financing events in the field of embodied intelligence in the domestic primary market this year, compared with 357 for the whole of 2025. Among the 18 companies in the "10 - billion - yuan club" in the field of embodied intelligence, Meituan is one of the most active Internet giants in terms of investment.

Meituan has also made early investments in the fields of underlying computing power and chips.

On the first day of listing, Moore Threads had a market value of over HK$300 billion, and Muxi Co., Ltd. had a market value of over HK$280 billion. Meituan was an early investor in both. In 2025, Meituan's R & D investment reached 26 billion yuan, a year - on - year increase of 23.5%.

Whether you like it or not, you have to admit that the shrewd Wang Xing has a great investment vision.

Being able to achieve success in the investment field is definitely not a fluke but a realization of one's knowledge.

Interpretation of Meituan's investment logic

Many people are curious why Meituan, a takeout company, invests in so many robot companies?

Recently, by reviewing many of Meituan's investment cases and combining them with its main business, the author found that the underlying logic of Meituan's investment is an insight: the takeout delivery business itself is one of the application scenarios with the highest requirements for "physical - world AI" capabilities.

Think about it. How many problems does a takeout rider need to solve: How to find the 5th floor of an old residential building without an elevator? How to avoid flooded roads on a rainy day? How to find the food pick - up point on the B1 floor from the B2 floor in a shopping mall? None of these questions can be answered by current large AI models.

Wang Xing, the CEO of Meituan, once said a sentence that I really like: "Even if Einstein were a secretary and you asked him to book a restaurant, he still wouldn't know if there were any available seats. This is not an intelligence problem but an information problem."

This sentence directly reveals Meituan's strategic intention. While all Internet companies are engaged in a large - model intelligence competition, Meituan has set its sights on another dimension - the digitalization and AI - enabled transformation of the physical world.

This is the fundamental logic behind Meituan's bet on Unitree Technology.

Meituan not only needs the financial returns from Unitree but also the "practice" of Unitree's robots in its own business scenarios.

The prospectus specifically mentions that Unitree Technology has carried out cooperation in scenario implementation with several "industry - leading technology companies", and the market generally speculates that Meituan is one of them.

Similarly, investing in Zhipu AI is to obtain the underlying capabilities of large models, investing in chips is to ensure the supply of computing power, and investing in embodied intelligence is for future delivery automation.

This investment strategy is well - connected. It's not about investing for the sake of making money but investing for the sake of making money in the future. The connotations of these two "making money" are completely different.

From "cost center" to "investment main line"

What's more noteworthy is that Meituan's investment map is changing from a "financial story" to a "source of profit".

A little - known detail: Meituan reported a loss of 23.3 billion yuan in its 2025 annual report, and its core local business also suffered a loss. Many people questioned Meituan's profitability because of this.

But don't forget, accounting profit and real money - making ability are two different things.

According to the financial report, as of March 31, 2026, the book value of Meituan's equity investments in companies such as Li Auto, Zhipu AI, and Unitree Technology, measured at fair value, was already quite substantial.

Just the investment in Unitree Technology alone has brought a paper profit of over 4 billion yuan based on the IPO issuance valuation.

In other words, if Meituan sells a portion of its equity investments in Unitree Technology, Zhipu AI, and Li Auto, its book profit can be reversed immediately.

But Meituan chooses not to sell. Why not?

Because for them, these equities are not just financial assets but also strategic assets.

This