AGIBOT Overtakes Unitree as China Captures 97% of Global Humanoid Shipments

According to SAG's H1 2026 Global Humanoid Robot Shipment Report released in August, AGIBOT (Zhiyuan Robotics) shipped approximately 8,400 humanoid robots in the first half of 2026, representing 44% global market share. This marks a 562% year-over-year increase from approximately 1,300 units in H1 2025.

Unitree Technology shipped about 5,900 units in H1 2026 (31% share), up 170% from approximately 2,200 units in H1 2025. While still growing rapidly, Unitree's pace was significantly outstripped by AGIBOT's, resulting in a leadership change at the top of the global shipment ranking.

The total global humanoid robot shipment in H1 2026 reached approximately 19,100 units, with Chinese manufacturers capturing 97% — about 18,500 units. The remaining 3% was split among manufacturers from the United States, Japan, and Europe. AGIBOT and Unitree together accounted for 75% of all global shipments, establishing a clear duopoly.

The two companies' divergent strategies explain the shift. Unitree, founded by Wang Xingxing, focuses on mature hardware and a developer ecosystem, with consumer-grade products like the H1 and G1 driving volume. AGIBOT, founded by Peng Zhihui (a former Huawei 'Genius Youth' recruit), pursues a closed-loop approach combining robots, real-world data, and unified models, with commercial and industrial batch deployments as its growth engine.

AGIBOT also overtook Unitree in revenue: Q1 2026 revenue reached approximately 1 billion yuan for AGIBOT versus 423 million yuan for Unitree. The competitive landscape is further complicated by both companies' IPO timelines — Unitree listed on the Shanghai STAR Market on August 19, while AGIBOT initiated Hong Kong listing procedures targeting a 40-50 billion HKD valuation.

The humanoid robot story has only reached the mass-production ramp-up chapter. The battle for the top spot is just the prelude.

— Robotics Industry Analysis