Ubtech Robotics Lands Record Grid Contract, Yet Shares Sink on Battery Criticism and IPO Threat from Unitree

Ubtech Robotics shares hit 12-month low as €870M energy partnership fails to lift stock, battery life controversy on U1 robots and rival Unitree's IPO add pressure.

Ubtech Robotics is experiencing a glaring disconnect between its commercial momentum and what investors are willing to pay for its stock. A landmark partnership worth €870 million with China’s energy sector failed to stop the shares from sliding to a 12-month low, while a contentious battery-life rating for the company’s newest consumer robot and a looming IPO from rival Unitree are adding to the pressure.

On Friday, the stock closed at €9.60, down 2.86% on the day. The weekly loss amounts to 18.64%, the monthly decline to 20.04%, and the year-to-date drop stands at 33.79%. The shares are now trading just 20 cents above a 52-week low of €9.40 set on July 10, and more than 43% below January’s high of €17.00. A 14-day relative strength index of 38 signals that the stock is approaching oversold territory, while an annualized 30-day volatility reading of 85% underscores the heightened uncertainty around the name.

The news that might have been expected to reverse the slide came on July 10, when Ubtech announced a strategic partnership with Shenhao Technology. Under the deal, humanoid robots will be deployed for maintenance and operations at major Chinese energy utilities, including State Grid and China Southern Power Grid. The contract, valued at 6.8 billion yuan (roughly €870 million), is the largest commercial commitment Ubtech has ever secured for its industrial robotics lineup. Yet the market shrugged off the announcement, and the sell-off has continued unabated.

Part of the investor unease stems from the first detailed look at Ubtech’s consumer-facing UWORLD U1 series, unveiled on June 30 in Shenzhen. The three models — the U1 Lite, U1 Pro and U1 Ultra — are designed as high-end companions capable of emotional interaction. The top-tier U1 Ultra carries a price tag of 990,000 yuan (about €127,000). Reports that its battery lasts only two to four hours prompted Ubtech to issue a formal statement on July 12. The company defended the figure as “industry standard” for full-size humanoid robots, but analysts and investors remain skeptical about the commercial viability of a premium-priced device that requires frequent recharging.

Despite the battery controversy, pre-orders have been strong. On launch day Ubtech reported more than 13,361 advance orders for the U1 series, with deliveries scheduled to begin in September. The company plans to produce 20,000 units in 2026, split evenly between industrial and commercial robots on one side and consumer guide robots on the other. It also intends to donate 100 customized U1 units — equipped with 3D facial reconstruction and voice-cloning technology — to psychological-care services that year.

While Ubtech works to convert pre-orders into revenue, a formidable competitor is preparing to tap the public markets. Unitree Technology, backed by Meituan, Tencent and Alibaba, updated its initial public offering status on the STAR Market to “submitted for registration” on the same day Ubtech was defending its battery specs. Unitree plans to raise 4.202 billion yuan at a valuation of roughly 42 billion yuan. The company delivered more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025, which it claims is the highest volume globally in that category. Its IPO injects a new competitive dynamic into a sector already feeling the heat from Tesla’s Optimus Gen-3 development.

Chart metrics reinforce the bearish narrative. The closing price of €9.60 sits 18.80% below the 50-day moving average of €11.82 and 19.33% below the 100-day average of €11.90. Ubtech’s current market capitalization stands at approximately €4.78 billion, a figure that has shrunk by one-third since the start of the year.

For investors, the weeks ahead will be telling. The September delivery window for the U1 series will test whether the pre-order book translates into real revenue or confirms fears about product readiness. Meanwhile, rival listings, battery-efficiency improvements, and advances in “embodied intelligence” — the ability of robots to autonomously perform physical tasks — are all likely to keep the stock under the microscope. Ubtech has signaled it is ramping up research and development spending in response, but whether that will be enough to arrest the slide remains an open question.