Unitree GD01: 500kg Riding Robot Shifts Between Two and Four Legs

GD01 Debut and Specifications

Hangzhou robot maker Unitree Robotics unveiled the GD01 in China as a 500 kg manned machine for civilian transport that can shift from two legs to four. Unitree priced the GD01 from 3.9 million yuan (US$574,000), according to the South China Morning Post. A demo video showed a pilot riding in a torso cockpit as the robot walked upright, knocked over a brick wall, and then switched to a four-legged crawl.

Market Context and IPO Filing

The GD01 debut comes as Chinese firms widen their presence in humanoid robotics. Chinese companies made up nearly 90% of global sales in 2025, according to Omdia. Unitree filed for a Shanghai Star Market IPO in March, signaling expansion plans in the competitive humanoid robotics sector.

Unitree’s Core Business Model

While the 500 kg GD01 draws attention, Unitree makes most of its money from smaller, cheaper humanoids. By the first three quarters of 2025, humanoid robots had become the company’s main revenue source. Unitree delivered more than 5,500 humanoid robots in 2025 and said in its prospectus that it ranked first worldwide by shipments.

About 50% to 70% of Unitree’s humanoid revenue from industry applications came from reception and tour-guide jobs, rather than advanced manufacturing, according to the prospectus. The company’s core business reached a gross margin of about 60% in 2025, which Unitree attributed to making motors and reducers in-house.

Cybersecurity and Data Sovereignty Concerns

Unitree’s global expansion faces headwinds from cybersecurity vulnerabilities in its existing products. A security assessment of Unitree’s G1 humanoid robot described operational risks for customers as the company expands overseas. The analysis identified a vulnerability that could let attackers within Bluetooth range gain root-level code execution through a hardcoded fleet-wide key used in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) provisioning.

The assessment also described persistent telemetry sent to servers at Chinese IP addresses without user notice, including data from several sensors and service-status details. The paper noted possible surveillance paths through audio and video streams. These issues raise questions about data sovereignty, where data is stored and governed, as well as corporate espionage. Such concerns could slow adoption in sensitive Western industrial or government sites and complicate Unitree’s global plans.