China’s backflipping robots leap to blockbuster stock market debut in latest sign of AI boom

HONG KONG — The robotics firm behind China’s famously backflipping humanoids leapt to a remarkable stock market debut on Wednesday, with Unitree’s shares closing up 460% as investors rally behind homegrown beneficiaries of the A.I. boom.

Chinese humanoid and other robots have advanced at a breathtaking pace as Beijing competes for global tech dominance with Washington. It banned imports of new foreign-made robots last month over national security concerns. Unitree, the first humanoid robotics maker to go public on a mainland Chinese exchange, has won global attention with its humanoid and quadruped robots that can run, dance, and do backflips and kung fu.

On Monday, the Hangzhou-based company unveiled its new “Superman” robot. It it states can jump more than 6.5 feet high and has a top speed of more than 28 miles per hour — faster than men’s 100-meter world record holder Usain Bolt.

Unitree’s stock, which was initially priced at 150.8 yuan ($22) a share, closed Wednesday at 845 yuan ($125.40) on Shanghai’s tech-focused STAR Market, valuing the company at concerning $50 billion. Earlier, it went as high as 1,100 yuan ($163.23), or 629%.