Chinas Robot Rivals Turn Up Heat on Unitree in Race for Quadruped Supremacy

　　AsianFin -- China’s quadruped robot market is heating up as two rising players—AgiBot and MagicLab—enter the fray against longtime market leader Unitree Robotics, launching new high-performance machines aimed at industrial and rugged-terrain use.

　　AgiBot Robotics on Monday quietly rolled out its first quadruped robot, the AgiBot D1 Ultra, according to information obtained exclusively by AsianFin. The D1 Ultra, part of the company’s Lingxi series, is designed for commercial and specialized industrial applications and boasts a top speed of 3.7 meters per second, 30-degree incline handling, stair-climbing capabilities, and the ability to jump up to 35 centimeters.

　　Though full pricing and a public launch date remain undisclosed, AgiBot is seeking partners and positioning the robot as a platform for collaboration in energy, logistics, and urban operations.

　　The release marks a major step into Unitree’s territory, with AgiBot accelerating its push into hardware just months after announcing a 2.1 billion yuan plan to acquire a controlling stake in Swancor Advanced Materials as part of a broader bid to fast-track its public market ambitions.

　　Swancor’s stock has surged more than 500% over the past two weeks amid speculation around the deal, closing Monday at 48.19 yuan per share and giving it a market cap of 19.44 billion yuan—eclipsing AgiBot’s most recent 15 billion yuan private valuation.

　　Meanwhile, MagicLab unveiled its own entry into the quadruped category on Monday: the MagicDog-W, a wheeled quadruped robot featuring 17 degrees of freedom and priced from 75,000 yuan . The robot is now available for global pre-order.

　　Engineered for rugged mobility, MagicDog-W can scale 40-degree inclines, clear vertical obstacles over 60 centimeters high, and operate on grass, stairs, and loose terrain. The company claims it is the most powerful wheeled quadruped in its category.

　　Both models will be showcased at the upcoming 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, where companies are expected to vie for investor attention and commercial interest amid a new wave of robotics adoption driven by AI, automation, and falling component costs.

　　Unitree Robotics—widely regarded as the global leader in quadruped robotics with an estimated 60% to 70% market share—is preparing for an IPO later this year. The company began regulatory counseling with CITIC Securities on July 18, according to a filing with the China Securities Regulatory Commission .

　　The company’s flagship consumer model, the Unitree Go2, is priced under 20,000 yuan and aimed at both enterprise and individual users. It can carry backpacks, jog alongside owners, and play with children, a strategy that blends B2B utility with B2C accessibility.

　　Founder Wang Xingxing, who holds a 34.76% stake, has said he expects quadruped robots to become a part of daily life in China within the next five years.

　　Once confined to military or research use, quadruped robots are gaining traction in broader markets like industrial inspections, firefighting, logistics, and even household applications. The sector’s supply chain is maturing, with upstream firms producing chips, sensors, and motors, and downstream firms exploring consumer, urban, and enterprise use cases.

　　According to the China Business Industry Research Institute, the domestic quadruped robot market grew 42.7% in 2023 to reach 470 million yuan , and is expected to surpass 850 million yuan by 2025.

　　With AgiBot and MagicLab now entering Unitree’s once-dominant sector, the race for technological and commercial leadership in next-generation robotics is entering a decisive phase—one where performance, scalability, and capital markets will determine who wins the ground game.