UBTECH Robotics
Walker S2 · China · Founded2012
UBTECH Robotics was founded in 2012 in Shenzhen, China by Zhou Jian (James Zhou). The company raised over $940M in pre-IPO funding from investors including Tencent and CDH Investments, making it one of the most-funded robotics companies globally.
Key Metrics
About UBTECH Robotics
In December 2023 UBTECH became the first humanoid robot company to go public, listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (9880.HK). The IPO raised approximately $130M HKD.
The Walker S humanoid stands 170cm tall with 41+ degrees of freedom and dexterous hands. It has been deployed in NIO and Dongfeng automotive factories for manufacturing tasks. UBTECH also produces the Yanshee educational robot and the Alpha consumer humanoid series.
UBTECH operates from Shenzhen with over 1,000 employees. The company has signed MOUs for expansion into the Middle East including Saudi Arabia's NEOM project.
Founders: Zhou Jian
Headquarters: Shenzhen, China
Latest Update
Walker S2 industrial humanoid in mass production. Targeting 5,000 units annually by end of 2026
Key Milestone
Walker S2 mass production started with 800M yuan in orders
Robot Models
Related Articles
Inside a Factory Where Robots Build Robots: How UBTECH Scales to 5,000 Units
UBTECH spent a decade making toy robots before pivoting to industrial humanoids. Now it has 1,000 Walker S2 units deployed, 800 million yuan in orders, and a Shenzhen factory targeting 5,000 units by end of 2026. The company's evolution from consumer gadgets to factory-floor machines is one of the most underreported scaling stories in robotics.
Your Next Coworker Has 23 Degrees of Freedom: A Day in the Life of a Factory Running Humanoids
The alarm goes off at 5:15 AM. By 6:00 AM, fourteen humanoid robots and forty-seven human workers share the same factory floor for an eight-hour shift. This is what that shift actually looks like, hour by hour, drawn from reported deployments at Amazon, BYD, NIO, and BMW. The future of work is not coming. It arrived on a loading dock at 4 AM and spent ninety minutes calibrating its wrist actuators.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many robots has UBTECH shipped?
UBTECH Robotics has shipped approximately 1,000 humanoid robots as of early 2026 and is targeting 5,000 units annually by end of 2026.
Who founded UBTECH?
UBTECH Robotics was founded by Zhou Jian (James Zhou) in 2012 in Shenzhen, China.
What robots does UBTECH make?
UBTECH produces the Walker S2 industrial humanoid, the Yanshee educational robot, and the Alpha consumer humanoid series.
Is UBTECH publicly traded?
UBTECH Robotics is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under ticker 9880.HK, having gone public in December 2023 as the first humanoid robot company to IPO.
Sources
- UBTECH Official Website - accessed 2026-03-28
- Yahoo Finance - UBTECH 9880.HK - accessed 2026-03-28
- Crunchbase - UBTECH Funding - accessed 2026-03-28