Chinese humanoid robot maker surges 600% in trading debut

Chinese Humanoid robot maker, Unitree robotics, saw its shares surge more than 629% to 1,100 yuan apiece upon their debut in Shanghai on Wednesday, after raising CNY6.1Bn ($905M).

The listing, at a valuation of $9Bn, marks China's first onshore initial public offering by a Humanoid robot company. Dozens of rivals, such as Agibot, are reportedly preparing to list in Hong Kong.

Unitree's product lineup spans Bipedal Humanoid robots that can walk and manipulate objects with dexterous hands, as well as four-legged robots used for tasks such as jumping and sprinting.

The IPO also drew backing from Chinese AI company DeepSeek, which invested about CNY140.8M.

Unitree's pop outshines that of Chinese DRAM chipmaker CXMT which surged nearly 466% in its trading debut late last month and later overtook Tencent to become China's most valuable company with a market capitalisation of 3.54Tn yuan.

Reference Sources

1. nikkei - Unitree shares soar 629% after robot maker raises $905m in Shanghai IPO
2. wsj - China’s Unitree Soars in Debut as Investors Bet Big on Robotics
3. cnbc - China’s backflipping robot maker Unitree pops 542% in Shanghai debut
4. bloomberg - Why China’s First Humanoid Robot IPO Has Investors in a Frenzy
5. ft - Chinese humanoid robot maker surges 600% in trading debut

South Korea was unaware of joint military drill scale-down before Trump's social media post: FM

South Korea and the United States have agreed to significantly scale down their ongoing joint military exercise, Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), cutting it short by almost a week following an order by US President Donald Trump.

South Korean foreign minister Cho Hyun said that neither South Korean nor US government officials had any knowledge of Trump's social media post, adding that Seoul consequently received no advance notification.

The allies are discussing specific details of the field training reduction, the JCS added.

The move comes after Trump called for the drills to be curtailed a day before they started, citing his "good relationship" with North Korean leader Kim Jong UN.

Pyongyang's state media criticised the drills on Wednesday as a "most immediate and open threat", without mentioning Trump's order.

The episode casts doubt on US national security policy in the Asia-Pacific in the face of China's growing military power, while reminding allies of the need to take responsibility for their own defense as quickly as possible.

Reference Sources

1. bernama - S. Korean FM Learns Of Joint Military Drill Cuts From Trump's Social Media
2. upi - U.S., South Korea scale back joint military drills after Trump order
3. elpaisen - US strategy in crisis in the Asia-Pacific
4. bangkokpost - US, South Korea cut drills short after Trump criticism
5. thestarmy - South Korea was unaware of joint military drill scale-down before Trump's social media post: FM

Apple overhauls its EU App Store fees, loosens rules for alternative app stores

Apple has announced a simplified commission structure for Apps in the European Union in an effort to resolve its disagreements with the European Commission over the Tech giant’s business terms.

Under the new model, apple will replace its per-install core technology fee with a flat 5% commission on digital goods in Apps distributed outside the App store or on the web.

Apple also adjusted its rates for alternative payments and for its own in-App purchases, and made it easier for developers to open alternative App stores.

The changes mark Apple’s latest attempt to create App store business terms that comply with EU regulations, after years of back-and-forth with regulators over the terms’ complexity and fairness.

The European Commission welcomed changes made by Apple to its rules for App developers to address charges of breaking the bloc’s competition rules – and avert the risk of new fines.

The Commission slapped apple with a fine of €500Mil (us $586Mil/Rm2.38Bn) in April 2025 after concluding it violated EU rules by preventing developers from steering customers outside its App store to access cheaper deals.

An EU statement said apple has committed to offer "revised" terms to developers for both the Iphone and Ipad, namely letting them choose between the App store, third-party App stores or the web as distribution channels.

Reference Sources

1. techcrunch - Apple overhauls its EU App Store fees, loosens rules for alternative app stores
2. thestarmy - EU 'welcomes' Apple steps to comply with digital rules
3. wsj - Apple to Change Terms for App Developers to Appease EU’s Antitrust Officials
4. cnbc - Apple overhauls Europe app store fees to resolve payments clash
5. barrons - Apple Changes App Store Terms to Resolve E.U. Antitrust Dispute

The CommonWealth English daily news digest is a service curated by CommonWealth English team with the help of AI tools.  

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