@mikekalilmfg
“This child is a bit stupid.” That’s what Unitree founder Wang Xingxing’s teacher told his parents when he was an anxious and awkward middle schooler. Wang’s company, Unitree Robotics, is on the verge of becoming a household name as its humanoid and quadrupedal robots grow ubiquitous in the age of embodied artificial intelligence. It’s entering 2026 heading toward an IPO an a valuation of $7 billion. Wang showed a strong curiosity and hands-on talent for engineering from a young age. Born in 1990 in Ningbo in the Zhejiang province, he spent his early years building model airplanes and even assembled mini turbo jet engines in middle school. Though he excelled at science, Wang struggled with English in China’s exam-focused school system. His weak performance in English nearly prevented him from getting into high school and disqualified him from elite universities. He enrolled at Zhejiang Sai Tech University in Hangzhou in 2009. Initially described as an introverted and unremarkable student, Wang found his passion in robotics. During his freshman year, he built a small bipedal walking robot for just ¥200 (or about $30), armed with only basic tools and scavenged parts. The feat gave him confidence and a reputation on campus as an engineer, unafraid of seemingly impossible challenges. Wang became an avid self-learner, immersing himself in technical literature. After earning his degree in mechatronics engineering, Wang entered Shanghai University for his master’s, focusing on robotics and control systems. His master’s thesis was a brushless DC motor controller. Crucially, Wang began exploring quadruped robot design during his time in Shanghai. He was convinced that small, electrically actuated four-legged robots would be the future. By 2015, he developed a quadruped prototype called XDog. The quadruped’s performance matched the top academic projects of the era, demonstrating exceptional stability and agility for its cost. After getting his masters in 2016, Wang initially felt the robotics market was not quite ready for quadrupeds at scale. He sought out industry experience, joining DJI, a world-leading drone manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen. His tenure was short-lived. Within months, his XDog went viral in tech media and Wang suddenly had offers. Someone actually wanted to buy his robot and an investor was willing to fund a startup. The 26-year-old jumped at the opportunity, using angel funding of ¥2 million or about $275,000. Now in his mid-30s, Wang has been lauded as a “post-90s robotics genius” in Chinese media. In February 2025, he was the only entrepreneur of his generation invited to a high-profile symposium of business leaders chaired by President Xi Jinping. He was seated prominently in the front row, near tech luminaries like Huawei’s Ren Zhengfei. In interviews, Wang has predicted that humanoid robots will revolutionize nearly every industry within his lifetime. His company insists it will not expand production blindly, but will ramp up output methodically as orders grow.
